‘We Are Not Competing’ – MSS Commander in Haiti Defends Status Between Haiti Police and Kenyan Officers
The head of the Kenyan mission in Haiti has denied allegations that Kenyan police officers were rescued by Haitian counterparts during a joint operation to keep a city from being overrun by armed gangs.
The operation took place 28 miles east of Port-au-Prince, where the forces attempted to defend the rural town of Ganthier, near the Dominican Republic border.
EXCLUSIVE: My CNN team and I faced gunfire from gang members twice on the same day in Haiti. We got the world's first inside look at a US-funded mission led by Kenyan police to bring peace to Port-au-Prince
— Larry Madowo (@LarryMadowo) August 9, 2024
Police who've fought Al-Shabaab tell me Haitian gangs are easy to beat pic.twitter.com/0IDDjlIABI
Godfrey Otunge, the force commander of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, responded to these allegations on Tuesday, emphasizing the Kenyan police’s close collaboration with the Haiti National Police.
“My officers and my vehicles were shot at,” Otunge told the Miami Herald, a US-based media outlet, “And the officers fought fiercely together with the HNP.”
He further added, “At no given time did the HNP or MSS seem to be competing with each other.”
The accusations came after a report by Frantz Duval, the editor-in-chief of Haiti’s oldest daily newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, described the Ganthier operation as a failure.
Speaking to the Miami Herald, Duval cited the operation as an example of the US and Canada’s unfulfilled promises to help Haiti restore security.
He argued that, despite the arrival of the first contingent of 400 Kenyan police officers on June 25, the country’s security situation had not changed significantly.
Duval singled out the July 21 attack on Ganthier by the powerful 400 Mawozo gang, noting that when the situation became critical, the HNP provided cover for Kenyan forces.
“The Kenyans went on a mission to Ganthier with the HNP,” Duval claimed.
“When things went awry it was the HNP that provided cover to the Kenyans… because the Haitians are better equipped than the Kenyans.”
Despite these claims, Otunge insists that the mission was a collaborative effort, dismissing any notion of unhealthy competition between Kenyan and Haitian forces.
‘We Are Not Competing’ – MSS Commander in Haiti Defends Status Between Haiti Police and Kenyan Officers
