By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
The government is in the final touches of its deployment of the Kenya Police officers to the Caribbean state – Haiti.
Kenya pledged to deploy at least 1,000 police to the troubled nation to help deal with the ongoing street gunbattle.
Plans for the deployment have been ongoing for months now since the United Nations Security Council )UNSC) approved the deployment.
According to President William Ruto, the deployment plan is now at the tail end.
Speaking in Nakuru during an Akorino service, Ruto said the officers will be deployed to Haiti as early as next week.
He said the deployment is part of Kenya’s commitment to help other nations globally.
“We have a very blessed nation that is being depended on by foreign nations as well, People from Sudan, and DRC are waiting on Kenya to assist them,” the Head of State said.
“For those in Haiti maybe this coming week or next week we will deploy our Police to maintain peace,” he added.
Plans by Kenya to deploy its police officers in Haiti have faced opposition locally and even in Haiti.
The opposition argues that Kenya stands to gain nothing from the deployment in a country it rarely has diplomatic relations with.
But Ruto has previously defended the move, insisting that it’s one of Kenya’s global duties.
The matter came up during his visit to the United States where he said Kenya’s role in Haiti is all about belief and commitment to peace and security.
“We deployed 1000 troops to DRC Congo because that is our neighbourhood. This deployment is equally our responsibility and Haiti should not be an exception. That is why deploying 1,000 security men to Haiti speaks to the same belief and commitment to peace and security,” Ruto said.
Reports indicate that Kenya’s initial deployment to Haiti will include 500 Kenyan police officers, 400 security professionals, and 100 members of staff such as medics, with the next group arriving at a later date.