UN-backed contingent of foreign police arrives in Haiti as Kenya-led force prepares to face gangs

It wasn’t immediately known what the Kenyans’ first assignment would be, but they will face violent gangs that control 80 per cent of Haiti’s capital and have left more than 580,000 people across the country homeless as they pillage neighbourhoods in their quest to control more territory.

The Kenyans’ arrival marks the fourth major foreign military intervention in Haiti. While some Haitians welcome their arrival, others view the force with caution, given that the previous intervention — the UN’s 2004-2017 peacekeeping mission — was marred by allegations of sexual assault and the introduction of cholera.

The Kenyans’ deployment comes nearly four months after gangs launched coordinated attacks targeting key government infrastructure in Haiti’s capital and beyond. They seized control of more than two dozen police stations, fired on the main international airport and stormed Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

“We’ve been asking for security for the longest time,” said Orgline Bossicot, a 47-year-old mother of two who sells carrots and charcoal as a wholesale distributor.

Gang violence has stymied her sales, and she tries to stay out as late as possible before sundown to make up for the losses despite being afraid.

“You don’t know who’s waiting for you around the corner. We are a target,” she said, adding that she is hopeful about the Kenyan police joining forces with local authorities. “It would be a great step forward for me, for Haiti and for a lot of people.” Critics say the coordinated gang attacks that began February 29 could have been prevented if the foreign force had been deployed sooner, but multiple setbacks including a legal challenge filed in Kenya and political upheaval in Haiti delayed its arrival.

The coordinated attacks achieved their objective: preventing then-Prime Minister Ariel Heny from returning to Haiti. At the time, he was in Kenya to push for the deployment of the force, but he resigned in late April amid the surge in violence.

Since then, a nine-member transitional presidential council was formed. It chose former UN official Garry Conille as prime minister May 28 and appointed a new Cabinet in mid-June.

The UN Security Council authorised Kenya to lead the multinational police mission in October 2023, a year after Henry first requested immediate help.

The Kenyans will be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica for a total of 2,500 officers that will be deployed in phases for an annual cost of some USD 600 million, according to the UN Security Council.

So far, the UN-administered fund for the mission has received only USD 18 million in contributions from Canada, France and the US. The US also has pledged a total of USD 300 million in support.

“While gang violence appears to have receded from its peak earlier this year, the country’s security situation remains dire,” the UN Security Council said in a June 21 statement.

More than 2,500 people were killed or injured in the first three months of this year, a more than 50 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Many Haitians live in fear, including Jannette Oville, a 54-year-old mother of two university-age boys.

She’s a wholesaler of crops like plantains and green peppers, and gangs have robbed her several times as she travels aboard public buses with her goods.

“I need security. I need to work. I need the roads to open up so I can provide for my family,” she said, confiding that she tucks money in her armpit or underwear to try to keep it safe.

“Being a female entrepreneur in Haiti is never easy,” she said. “There’s a lot of risk. But we take a risk to make sure our families are good.” The UN Security Council also noted that “the acute security situation continues to have severe humanitarian consequences.” An estimated 1.6 million people are on the brink of starvation, the highest number recorded since the devastating 2010 earthquake, according to the UN.