Kenyan Police deployed in Haiti received an assortment of equipment and resources from the United States government to aid in their fight against the gangs in the war-torn Caribbean nation.
As of Sunday, media reports indicated that the officers received a shipment including military equipment through the foreign power's embassy in Port-au-Prince on Friday.
This includes weapons and a military Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) designed to transport personnel and equipment during combat.
Besides receiving military equipment, the officers also received a wide array of resources to facilitate their mission including; a fully equipped restaurant, washing machines and a flurry of other essentials.
The Kenyan police base in Haiti has also been equipped with a medical camp which was well-stocked to cater to medical emergencies.
Kenyan officers will also have Wi-Fi connection within the base for ease of communication between them and their families back in Kenya.
Speaking on the contentious matter where Kenyan police officers were captured standing guard outside the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince earlier this week, Commander of the mission, Godfrey Otunga clarified that at the time, the troops were escorting him and other leaders a meeting where they were also supposed to collect donated equipment from the American Embassy.
Otunga explained that the troops stood guard outside the Embassy while the leadership attended the meeting, ready to escort them back to their base once it was concluded.
He further clarified that the standard protocol should not be misconstrued as a permanent or primary assignment at the Embassy.
“Our officers were not there to guard the Embassy but as part of a meeting that was ongoing inside. We went to discuss many issues and receive more equipment for use by the troops,” he added.
President William Ruto flagged off the first batch of police officers to Haiti on June 24, as part of an agreement struck between the Kenya Kwanza administration and Washington.
Kenya is expected to deploy more troops to the country who will be joined by teams from other countries such as Jamaica, Grenada, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, and Mauritius.
