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The police inspector general, Douglas Kanja, on Thursday said
officers in Haiti had been paid “up to the end of October.” He
was reacting to Kenyan media reports citing deployed officers
who complained that their salaries had not been paid for three
months.
Kenya is leading a contingent of foreign police in the troubled
Caribbean country to help quell gang violence. The Kenyan
officers deployed in June marked the fourth major foreign
military or police intervention in Haiti.
While some Haitians welcome them, others view the force with
caution, given that the previous intervention — the U.N.’s
2004-2017 peacekeeping mission — was marred by allegations of
sexual assault and the introduction of cholera, which killed
nearly 10,000 people.
Financial reports from Kenya’s Treasury revealed that Kenya
spent over 2 billion Kenyan shillings ($15 million) for the
mission while waiting to be reimbursed by the U.N.
“This money we are spending on behalf of the U.N., we are the
ones making the payment so the money comes from our exchequer
because these are our officers,” Treasury Minister John Mbadi
told domestic media last week.
More than 4,500 people have been reported killed in Haiti so far
this year, and another 2,060 injured, according to the U.N.
Gang violence also has displaced an estimated 700,000 people in
recent years as gunmen burn and pillage communities in a push to
control more territory.
A growing number of people have criticized the Kenyan-led
mission, noting that police have not seized control of gang
strongholds or arrested any gang leaders.
Gang violence worsened last month as the United States and other
countries pushed for a U.N. peacekeeping mission, noting that
the current Kenyan-led mission lacks resources and funding.
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