A contingent of Kenyan troops who were sent to Haiti to assess preparedness for the multinational mission are returning home.
The officers are returning to Kenya after the planned deployment which was supposed to happen earlier this week was delayed due to logistical constraints.
According to sources privy to the information, the officers will be arriving in Kenya on Monday, May 27, after a delay in deployment was confirmed by President William Ruto.
One of the officers who was part of the advance team revealed that the venues where the officers would reside were 70 per cent complete.
The officers arrived in Haiti on Tuesday, May 21, and were received by officers from Haiti's national police where they later met the presidential transitional committee.
About 200 police officers from Kenya were set to arrive in Haiti earlier this week to join those who were already in the Caribbean nation.
Speaking to BBC, President Ruto noted the deployment had been postponed to allow adequate time for preparation but affirmed his commitment to stabilizing the war-torn nation.
"Once we have that assessment that we agreed with the Haitian police and the Haitian leadership, we are looking at the horizon of between three weeks and there about for us to be ready to deploy, once everything on the ground is set," Ruto stated.
The announcement by Ruto comes barely a week after a US official linked to the peace-keeping mission revealed the deployment would be delayed up to early June.
The official who spoke to the Miami Herald disclosed that there was a delay in the procurement of armoured vehicles and helicopters to be used by the Kenyan police.
Concerns were also raised about the lack of communication equipment, with the US official noting that the communication tools would possibly be delivered before the end of May.
Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden confirmed his administration would provide $300 million to a multinational force that will involve Kenyan police officers and those drawn from Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda.
