NPS denies Kenyan police officers in Haiti have been killed
By Hilary KimuyuThe National Police Service (NPS) on Monday denied reports that Kenyan police officers deployed in Haiti on a U.N.-backed peacekeeping mission had been killed.
On Sunday, there were claims that at least seven officers had died while in the Caribbean country after an image was posted on social media claiming that the Kenyan officers had been overpowered and killed by armed gangs.
“7 Kenya police reported dead in Haiti, President William Ruto, God will never forgive you,” the text read.
On Monday, NPS however termed the image as fake.
The first contingent of Kenyan police officers arrived in the Caribbean country last week as part of a long-delayed mission to help police fight armed gangs.
The 400 officers are expected to lead a mission to tackle raging gangland violence convulsing the Caribbean nation, which has suffered a prolonged period of instability amid a severe humanitarian crisis.
Kenya volunteered last July to lead an international force to stem the latest wave of violence to afflict Haiti, where gangs control most of the capital Port-au-Prince while carrying out widespread killings, kidnappings and sexual violence.
The deployment of Kenyan troops had been repeatedly delayed by the court as the security situation in the Caribbean country continued to deteriorate, forcing the former Prime Minister to resign in March.
The mission to Haiti was authorised by the United Nations Security Council on October 2, 2023.
Kenya is expected to deploy a contingent of 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean island-nation, which is grappling with security crises.
Apart from Kenya, at least five other nations – including Jamaica and Benin – have told the United Nations that they are ready to deploy police officers to Haiti as part of the mission.