With Kenya Police in Haiti now actively fighting gangs in Port-au-Prince, the United States on Monday promised to upgrade the fleet of military vehicles.
This was announced by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield when she landed at the troubled Caribbean nation.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield told the Kenya Police deployed in Haiti that they would be receiving mine-resistant military trucks.
Already, Kenya Police in Haiti use weapons and warfare infrastructure salvaged from the Pentagon stockpile including eight armoured military trucks.
Last week, during the first-ever engagement with Haiti gangs, one of the eight armoured trucks broke down in the middle of Port-au-Prince bringing a momentary scare to the safety of the troops.
The US Ambassador noted that the extra-sophisticated vehicles will help Kenyan police officers and their Haitian counterparts combat gang violence in the region.
Mine-resistant military trucks cost between USD400,000 (Ksh52 million) and USD1 million (Ksh131 million).
The vehicles are expensive due to their nature of design which makes them able to withstand improvised explosive device (IED) attacks and ambushes.
The Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) which will be issued to Kenya Police in Haiti were first used in 2007 by the United States in Iraq and thereafter in Afghanistan.
Currently, there are 400 Kenyan police officers in Haiti with the number expected to rise to 1,000 security officers.
In an earlier interview, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi revealed that the contingent in Haiti would be increased on a need-to-need basis.
While appreciating the 400 Kenyan police officers in Haiti, Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield was optimistic they would get the work done.
“We know that progress is not lineal. There will be inevitable setbacks and stumbling blocks, and yet this mission has opened a door to progress,” Thomas-Greenfield remarked.
