In first comments, Kenyan force in Haiti says there is ‘no room for failure’ against powerful gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The head of the Kenyan-led multinational force tasked with combating gang violence in Haiti said Monday that “there is no room for failure” and that the U.N.-backed police mission is committed to ensuring democratic elections in the Caribbean nation.

The nationally broadcast press conference was the first public comment by the Kenyan force, although the briefing did not take any questions from the media.

However, significant questions remain about the Kenyan force, which arrived in Haiti late last month, months after powerful gangs seized control of much of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and forced the resignation of the prime minister.

“We have a job to do,” said Kenyan officer Godfrey Otunge. “We intend to do this by working closely with Haitian authorities and local and international partners who are dedicated to building a new Haiti.”

The U.N.-backed mission, to which the United States has pledged more than $300 million, has been questioned from the start. In Kenya, police have long been accused by observers and witnesses of human rights abuses, including during recent protests.

Haiti’s new Prime Minister Garry Conille has called the history of foreign intervention in his country a “mixture” that includes human rights abuses and a “lack of respect for local sovereignty and culture.”

Some in Haiti, however, welcomed the new mission with hope.

Kenya has pledged to contribute 1,000 officers to the international police force (200 have arrived initially) and Conille told the UN Security Council last week that the next contingent would arrive “very soon”. They will then be joined by officers from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica. The force will total 2,500.

In May, a transitional council appointed Conille as prime minister. U.S. officials have urged him to prioritize the creation of an electoral council as the country works to rebuild its government. Conille is tasked with stabilizing the country in preparation for democratic elections in February 2026.

Otunge said the new mission aims to “create security conditions conducive to the holding of free and fair elections.”

Haitian police chief Normil Rameau also addressed the nation Monday, saying the U.N.-backed mission is focused on retaking all areas from gang control, reestablishing police presence in areas without authority and helping Haitians displaced by gangs return home.

More than half a million people have been displaced by the violence.

Rameau and other Haitian officials have not shared details about future operations, citing strategic reasons and saying they did not want to alert gangs to their plans.

Haiti has called for an international force to fight the gangs in 2022, and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has been calling for months for one country to lead the force before the Kenyans stepped forward.

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021, gangs have grown in power and are now believed to control up to 80% of the Haitian capital. The surge in murders, rapes, and kidnappings has led to a violent uprising by civilian self-defense groups.

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This article corrected the Kenyan officer’s surname to Otunge instead of Otunga.