Haiti Deployment: “We Are Sending Special Forces, Not Traffic Cops”-Belgut Mp Koech
Nelson Koech, a member of parliament from Belgut, defended the government’s decision to deploy 1,000 officers to war-torn Haiti as a praiseworthy effort to restore peace.
According to Koech, the personnel who will be deployed are not ordinary police officers, but rather specially trained unit officers who are capable of combating the dangerous gangs in the Caribbean nation.
“I know Kenyans have made a joke out of this and many think the police who are going there are traffic policemen. Kenya has special armed forces. There is absolutely no problem whatsoever we must put our country in the global arena at least for the good things. I totally support it,” he said.
“Our officers have encountered gangs before they are properly trained for that.”
On Monday, MP Koech appeared on Citizen TV’s Daybreak program.
Beatrice Elachi, a member of parliament for Dagoreti North, expressed skepticism regarding the mission’s success, arguing that the criminals in the foreign country have been a problem for Haitian authorities for decades and that it has been difficult to silence them.
“Haiti is a country that has been run by gangs, that is where we should ask ourselves have we trained our officers to understand how to manage gangs? They are terrorists who are willing to do anything to survive,” she said.
“We will lose our police officers. These gangs will terrorize them because when you watch any stories in Haiti they are ready to die and our officers are coming from a democratic country and taking them to where there is no order.”
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Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua announced the deployment, stating that the officers will help train and assist Haitian police to restore normalcy and safeguard strategic installations.
The announcement was welcomed by the Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, who expressed confidence in the peacekeeping mission in the face of rising Kenyan concerns.
“Yes, we’re going to Haiti. We will lead this mission. We have never failed. We’ll succeed there too,” Koome said during a meeting with Head of Public Service Felix Koskei.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council is scheduled to deliberate on a resolution that will lead to the deployment of a multinational force led by Kenya.
The council will develop the framework for and authorize the deployment of an international force for one year, with a nine-month review to follow.
Caribbean nations and members of CARICOM, including Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Antigua and Barbuda, have also expressed their willingness to support the mission that Kenya’s force will lead.
The Bahamas has pledged 150 personnel to the multinational force, while Jamaica has stated that while it cannot match Kenya’s offer of 1,000 personnel, it “will give what we can.”
The formal establishment of diplomatic relations between Kenya and Haiti occurred on September 21, following the signing of an agreement by President William Ruto and Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti.
Haiti Deployment: “We Are Sending Special Forces, Not Traffic Cops”-Belgut Mp Koech
