Kenyan police officers deployed to Haiti are set to begin their journey back home, with the final batch of about 400 officers expected to leave the Caribbean nation starting next week.
They will be replaced by another team scheduled to travel aboard a chartered plane, marking a strategic rotation as the year-long Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission enters its final phase. The mission saw Kenya take a central role in supporting the Haitian National Police (HNP) amid a surge in deadly gang violence.
The returning officers are part of a deployment of roughly 800 personnel who have been in Haiti since June 2024. The first contingent of 400 officers and a second group of 200 were drawn from elite police formations, including the General Service Unit (GSU), the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), and the Administration Police’s Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU).
The mission has been under the command of Force Commander Geoffrey Otunge since its inception.
In preparation for the withdrawal, about 170 officers will leave Kenya this weekend to relieve the first and second contingents at their respective bases. The selected officers, who previously underwent training for the mission, were recalled on Thursday to the GSU Training School for final briefings.
On Thursday, another group of officers was redeployed from the main camp in Port-au-Prince to the Port-de-Paix base. They will hold the positions temporarily as the departing units move to the capital ahead of their return to Nairobi.
Officials say the rotation is designed to maintain continuity in security operations and avoid creating vulnerabilities that gangs could exploit.
Kenya’s involvement in the MSS mission was sanctioned by a United Nations Security Council resolution in October 2023 in response to Haiti’s worsening security crisis.
Throughout the year-long deployment, MSS officers engaged in joint patrols, secured critical installations, and trained local police units, helping stabilise conditions for both civilians and humanitarian organisations.
