Kenya’s police chief, Inspector General Douglas Kanja, has dismissed reports claiming that officers serving in Haiti’s U.N.-backed peacekeeping mission have not been paid for three months. Speaking on Thursday, Kanja confirmed that Kenyan officers had been paid up through the end of October, responding to media reports citing complaints from deployed personnel about salary delays.
Kenya is leading a contingent of foreign police in Haiti to combat escalating gang violence. The Kenyan deployment, which began in June, is the fourth major foreign intervention in the country in recent years.
While some Haitians welcome the foreign intervention, others are cautious, recalling the controversial U.N. peacekeeping mission between 2004 and 2017, which was marred by accusations of sexual abuse and the introduction of cholera, resulting in nearly 10,000 deaths.
Kenya’s Treasury revealed it has already spent over 2 billion Kenyan shillings ($15 million) on the mission while awaiting reimbursement from the U.N. Treasury Minister John Mbadi explained, “We are the ones making the payment, so the money comes from our exchequer because these are our officers.”
The U.N. has reported more than 4,500 deaths in Haiti this year and over 2,000 injuries. Gang violence has also displaced around 700,000 people as armed groups continue to terrorize communities in a bid to expand their control.
The Kenyan-led mission has faced increasing criticism for failing to gain control of gang strongholds or capture gang leaders. Concerns have also grown over the mission’s lack of resources and funding, as the U.S. and other nations call for a U.N. peacekeeping force to take over.
