Kenyan Police in Haiti have threatened to resign should President William Ruto’s administration fail to solve their problems, including timely payment of their wages.
According to Citizen TV, officers in Haiti who spoke to the media reported that they had not received their wages for the past three months.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja on Thursday, November 5, however, refuted the allegations, stating that the officers had already been paid their wages in full.
He added that the situation in Haiti had immensely improved on the back of the government’s efforts to resolve most of the challenges facing the contingent. “The officers on the ground are doing quite well,” Kanja assured.
Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja Kirocho during a media briefing on July 23, 2024.
Photo
National Police Service
His sentiments were backed by Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo who clarified that the United Nations was the organisation mandated with paying the officers and not Kenya.
“The Kenyan team is part of the United Nations multi-support team in Haiti and its term of engagement is well defined on who is paying for that support, and it is the United Nations,” Omollo said.
However, insiders in Haiti termed Kanja and PS Omollo’s sentiments as misleading. According to the officers, most of them were grappling with financial problems as they were unable to support their families back in Kenya.
Despite calls for better working conditions and timely payment, the officers’ demands have been met with extreme responses, including threats of disarmament.
Further, a section of Kenyan police in the Caribbean nation also lamented that their communication was being controlled to prevent any information about their suffering from leaking back to Kenya.
The struggles by the Kenyan police in the Asian country come a fortnight after Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi revealed that Kenya spent ksh2 billion to fund the Haiti mission.
According to a report by the National Treasury, the disbursement was made in September this year, sparking questions as to why the government spent on the mission despite initial promise that Kenya would not use its finances to fund the operation.
Nonetheless, addressing the matter, Mbadi assured Kenyans that the United Nations would reimburse the funds soon and that there was no need to worry.
Kenyan police officer during an operation in Haiti on July 17, 2024.
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AP