Kenya starts final withdrawal of police officers from Haiti

Kanja flew to Port-au-Prince aboard a Kenya Airways flight and returned with more than 200 police officers, marking the start of the withdrawal.

The plane touched down at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Tuesday night.

Kenya first deployed its police officers to the Caribbean country in June 2024 to help suppress criminal gangs that had threatened to overthrow the government.

Officials said another group of police officers will depart in a week ahead of the April 15 deadline.

Kenya has managed to liberate the main airport, hospital, roads and other social amenities.

The team also trained more than 2,000 Haitian police officers who have been deployed for operations in various places.

The move followed failure to agree with their parties on managing a newly created Gang Suppression Force for Haiti.

Kenya wanted to retain the command of GSF. When they failed to get the assurances, Kenyan authorities refused to pledge deployment of troops as was asked by the US.

“The entire team leaves by April 15, 2026, as per the timelines. It’s time to leave here,” said an official on the ground.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, in January, during a visit to Nairobi, praised the Kenyan team and revealed the Haitian government could have collapsed due to gang violence.

He said the Kenyan police are responsible for the stability being experienced in Haiti. “That government would not have survived had it not been for you. We have learned a lot from your experience. Your heroism and dedication were key.”

“I came here to say thank you. You answered the call of the international community to address the crisis in Haiti,” he said.

Landau spoke at the National Police College, Embakasi ‘A’ Campus  at a ceremony to honour the Haiti Mission officers who completed their tour.

“It’s a tribute to the close relationship between Kenya and the USA. Your response showed how the international community can respond to a crisis.”

He awarded certificates to the officers who had returned from Haiti.

Kenya stepped in to lead the Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti, which transformed into a more robust Gang Suppression Force, supported through equipment and vehicle provision.

At least two police officers have been killed in the mission.

Haiti's presidential transitional council, which has run the impoverished Caribbean nation for nearly two years, handed power to US-backed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime after failing to rein in rampant gang violence.

The transfer of power between the nine-member council, created in April 2024, and 54-year-old businessman Fils-Aime took place under tight security, given Haiti's unstable political climate.

Fils-Aime is now the country's only politician with executive power.

He faces the daunting task of organising elections with the backing of a polarised political establishment.

For years, Haiti -- the poorest country in the Americas -- has been in the throes of deadly gang violence, with frequent murders, rape cases and kidnappings.

Elections have not taken place since 2016, and the country has not had a president since Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021.

Gangs now control 90 per cent of the capital Port-au-Prince, and they killed nearly 6,000 people in 2025, according to the United Nations.

About 1.4 million people, or 10 per cent of the population, have been displaced by the violence, and nearly half of all Haitians face acute food insecurity, including 1.2 million children under the age of five.

Amid fears of a political vacuum, the United States threw its support behind Fils-Aime.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed "the importance of his continued tenure as Haiti's Prime Minister to combat terrorist gangs and stabilise the island."

Washington also sanctioned two council members and a minister, accusing them of supporting gangs.

Haitian police have been conducting a large-scale offensive against gangs in central Port-au-Prince, destroying one home belonging to notorious gang leader Jimmy Cherizier, also known as "Barbecue."