- The delegation also visited the top brass of the Haitian National Police for a working session on the security situation, officials said.
- They Tuesday met the police chief Frantz Elbe among others.
Image: HANDOUT
A Kenyan security team on an assessment mission has met Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry, members of his government and leaders of the High Council of the Transition on their tour of the country.
This comes ahead of the planned deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to combat the gang violence that has wrecked the Caribbean nation.
Kenya will lead an international police force aimed at the mission.
The delegation is in Haiti to understand the degradation of security of the country.
The delegation also visited the top brass of the Haitian National Police (PNH) for a working session on the security situation and weakness of the agency, officials said.
They Tuesday met the police chief Frantz Elbe among others.
The Haitian media said the team was also taken around the capital in Port-au-Prince and other sites affected by the gangs.
The force is meant to assist Haiti’s understaffed and under-resourced police department, with only about 10,000 officers for the nation’s more than 11 million people.
“We are here to assess the needs of the National Police of Haiti, better understand the situation and do our best to help the Haitian people,” said George Orina, an official with the Ministry of foreign affairs.
Deputy Inspector General of Administration Police Noor Gabow is leading the team.
Before arriving in Haiti on Sunday, the Kenyan delegation met with countries and groups in New York that are trying to decide how best to help Haiti.
The Kenyan officials said the countries they met with understand the Haitian demands and the urgent need to put an end to a situation which is paralyzing the functioning of the country and putting the future of its citizens in danger.
After the Kenyan assessment, the plan to send a security force to Haiti will pass a vote at the U.N. Security Council.
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry pledged to hold elections once security is re-established.
The government statement said Henry had reiterated the need to establish the free movement of people and goods and that lessons had been learned from previous missions in Haiti.
"Kenyan troops benefit from much experience, having served in places such as Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, East Timor, Somalia, Sudan and Angola," it said.
Other regional countries have pledged to send their police officers to make it 2,000 strong force.
Haiti’s Prime Minister Henry said on August 7 that he spoke with President William Ruto to thank Kenya for the “demonstration of fraternal solidarity.”
The Caribbean nation is suffering from a surge in gang violence and is in a deep security, political and humanitarian crisis.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International had called for the planned multinational force to include safeguards to prevent abuses.