On Tuesday, July 2, Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille shared details of the next contingent of Kenyan police officers set to be deployed to the Caribbean nation.
In an interview with AFP, Conille revealed that the officers will be in the country in the coming weeks. However, he did not reveal the exact number of police officers to be deployed due to security reasons.
"It will happen quickly. We can already see in the coming weeks that we will have a second contingent," he stated.
Conille spoke after meeting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the multinational security mission. The new Prime Minister also met other officials from the US, especially from the White House and State Department.
The US is among the major financiers of the peacekeeping mission led by Kenyan troops. So far it has offered over Ksh14 billion.
Meanwhile, on the deployment, Conille added that planning was in progress to guarantee that foreign troops would restore peace in liaison with the current officers in Haiti.
"But I already assure you that there is planning being done to be able to gradually strengthen their presence," he added.
During the interview, Conille assured Haitians that the transitional government was focused on restoring peace and settling thousands who were displaced by the gangs. He also vowed to offer transparency on the restoration adding, "We will communicate regularly."
He further revealed that the transition took over during a difficult situation. Conille was named as the Prime Minister after Ariel Henry resigned in March after returning from Kenya.
"Infrastructure practically is non-existent, ministries no longer even have offices, staff are unmotivated and the police need help," he remarked.
The PM was however hopeful that peace would be restored and the gangs would be suppressed. He added that the foreign troops would be supplementing local police officers in dealing with the gangs.
He urged the citizens to be patient as the necessary measures were implemented to offer long-lasting solutions to the war-torn nation.
This comes a few days after about 400 out of the needed 1,000 Kenyan troops flew to Haiti to embark on the peacekeeping mission. The troops were spotted on the streets of Port-au-Prince.
