On Monday June 24, 2024, Kenyan President William Ruto, accompanied by the Mission Commander, General Geoffrey Otunge, Head of Operations of the Administrative Service and Principal Deputy Inspector General of Police, visited the Nairobi Police Academy for a departure ceremony behind closed doors of the first battalion of 400 police officers kicking off the Multinational Security Support Mission (MMSS) in Haiti.

"Honored to say goodbye to the first group of the National Police Service contingent taking part in the historic United Nations mission in Haiti," said Kithure Kindiki, the Kenyan Minister of the Interior in a statement.

"It was an official ceremony to hand over the flag by the President, 400 officers are now ready to leave for Haiti," declared an official from the Ministry of the Interior. He said the initial group was made up of elite officers from several units including the anti-terrorist squadron, which fought radical Somali Islamists Shebab on Kenyan soil; members of the Rapid Deployment Unit, the Border Patrol Unit, also engaged in the fight against Shebab, members of the Rapid Deployment Unit, the General Services Unit, the administrative police and the Keyniane police.

"They have all undergone rigorous training for this mission, in addition to their prior training in handling complex situations and they are ready for the mission [...] do not doubt their ability."

On Saturday June 22, 2024, two senior police officers were appointed to lead the Kenyan deployment :

Noor Gabow (Deputy Inspector General of Police), who was initially expected to lead the officers, will now take on the role of coordinating the training and capacity development of the troops from Nairobi. Gabow will accompany the first battalion and supervise the deployment before returning to Kenya and continuing his coordination duties.

Commissioner Stephen Chebet has been appointed head of operations of the general services unit.

Monday around 10:50 p.m. (7:50 p.m. GMT) the first battalion flew from Nairobi aboard a plane of the national company Kenya Airways to Haiti, said an official from the Ministry of the Interior. It is unknown whether it will stop in Florida or when the battalion will disembark in Port-au-Prince.

A second battalion would be expected in the next fortnight. The material would already be sent.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-42618-haiti-flash-kenyans-already-secretly-in-haiti-first-contingent-expected-on-june-25-2024.html

SL/ S/ HaitiLibre