Kenya Plans to Send a Police Task Force to Haiti

On 29 July, Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua announced that Kenya will commit to sending a 1,000 strong police task force to Haiti to train and assist the Haitian Police in restoring security and stability in the country. The small Caribbean island state has been struggling with a severe security crisis for years now. Violent gangs control around 80% of the nation’s capital Port au Prince and local law enforcement is not sufficiently staffed, trained, and/or equipped to effectively counter such a threat. The deployment still needs to be approved by Haitian authorities and by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), but both UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have signalled support for the initiative. The Haitian Foreign Minister, Jean Victor Geneus, expressed gratitude for Kenya’s offer and announced that the country is willing to receive its support.

In October 2022, Guterres began calling for a non-UN international mission to support the local police, and in July 2023 the UNSC passed a resolution encouraging UN member states "to provide security support to the Haitian National Police," potentially through "the deployment of a specialised force." Although most member states supported the deployment of a multinational force to support Haiti, Kenya was the first and only country to commit to sending a task force. In late August, a Kenyan delegation travelled to Haiti to evaluate the mission’s operational needs and assess the specifics of its mandate.

The call for outside support was first issued by interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry in October 2022 following an increase in murders, kidnappings, and rapes committed by criminal gangs that control much of the capital. Henry took over leadership of the country after the murder of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021 by a group of foreign mercenaries. The humanitarian crisis was exacerbated by a gang blockade of one of the capital's main fuel terminals that has caused shortages and a significant increase in the price of basic necessities. The growing humanitarian crisis has led to an increase in demonstrations against the government, further worsening social instability. The UN estimates that about five of Haiti’s nearly 12 million people suffer from hunger.

Despite calls for foreign support by Haitian officials, human rights groups warned against the intervention due to human rights abuses committed by previous international missions in the country. Before their withdrawal in 2019, UN troops were accused of sexual violence towards Haitian women and girls. Moreover, UN peacekeepers who were deployed to Haiti after a devastating earthquake in 2010 were responsible for a cholera outbreak that killed over 9,600 people. These, along with other similar incidents throughout the country's history, have made the local population particularly averse to the presence of foreign military contingents in the country.

Kenya's proposal to send its own task force is in line with the country's commitment in recent years to present itself as a stabilising actor. Kenyan police have been involved in several peacekeeping missions over the last 15 years, including in Somalia and South Sudan. However, questions remain surrounding the potential effectiveness of a deployment of Kenyan police in Haiti. The first concerns the distance between the two countries, while the other relates to accusations of violent abuse by Kenyan police in managing domestic unrest. Coordinating a task force in a country as far as Haiti cannot be compared, in terms of logistics, to previous missions in other African states, and will certainly test Kenya’s ability to match its ambitions with logistic and coordination capabilities.

Despite the fact that the United States and Canada have already demonstrated their willingness to offer financial resources in support of the Kenyan mission, what it will likely require is logistical assistance from entities with greater experience in executing missions of this nature. The crux of the challenge lies in effectively strategizing, facilitating transportation, and ensuring the sustained presence of the task force within Haiti. The Kenyan police force's relative lack of experience in conducting long-distance operations is a notable vulnerability that may particularly affect the mission during the preparatory stages. This weakness could lead to significant complications during the operational phase. While the transfer of personnel and resources could present temporary problems, the ongoing maintenance of the task force in Haiti over an extended period could expose substantial logistical deficiencies posing serious challenges to the long-term sustainability of the mission.

Haitians still vividly recall the 2010 cholera epidemic, which was traced back to a malfunction in the wastewater facility within the UN forces' compound, resulting in the contamination of a river. This underscores the critical importance of thoroughly assessing and effectively managing all the requirements associated with international missions in Haiti. Instances such as the 2010 incident significantly contribute to the deepening of the population's resentment towards external interventions, contributing to the growth of negative sentiment over time. In addition to accommodating the task force, there is also the essential task of equipping the Kenyan police adequately for their duties. The equipment provided will need to be regularly replaced and supplemented to match the rapidly evolving situation. Given the pervasive level of violence that characterises the crisis in Haiti, it is reasonable to anticipate a substantial demand for equipment replacement and turnover. This further amplifies the logistical challenge at hand.

Language presents another complicating factor. Given that Kenyan police officers are not proficient in either French or Haitian Creole, the languages predominantly spoken by the local population, the task force will encounter a significant language barrier. This barrier presents a dual challenge; it hampers effective communication between the Kenyan and Haitian forces, as well as impeding the task force's ability to engage with the population. Considering the Kenyan police's intended role of providing support and training to the local police, the potential impact of communication difficulties on the mission's objectives is readily apparent. Particularly in joint operations, the inability to communicate efficiently and effectively has the potential to undermine operations. Further, the language divide between the task force and the local populace could give rise to tensions. This is especially relevant given that the task force's policing responsibilities necessitate consistent and close interaction with civilian communities. In an environment marked by elevated levels of violence and a general distrust of external entities, this barrier could further worsen the population's discontent with international missions.

A significant area of concern raised by Haitian civil society pertains to the history of abuse and violence associated with Kenyan police. During the Covid-19 outbreak, there were accusations that the police fatally shot individuals who had violated government-imposed curfews. In a more recent incident that occurred in July 2023, approximately 30 people were killed by the police during protests sparked by increases in the cost of living. These events have led to a substantial level of apprehension regarding the Kenyan task force's deployment and the behaviour of its officers. The concern stems from the fear that the Kenyan police could introduce a highly violent and extrajudicial approach to handling the security crisis in Haiti. If the Kenyan police take a highly repressive approach, the general population may bear the brunt of the consequences, rather than the gangs that are largely responsible for the ongoing violence. Considering that the purpose of the task force is to provide training to the Haitian forces, there is a risk that similar violent tendencies might be adopted by Haitian forces, potentially exacerbating abuses and violations within the country in the long term.