IG Kanja says Kenyan police in Haiti have been paid their salaries

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja Thursday confirmed that the Kenyan police officers in Haiti have received their salaries up to the end of October this year.

The comments come amid reports of financial constraints facing the mission.

Kanja also commended the officers for leading the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission that seeks to restore peace in the war-torn nation.

He said the team had achieved much in their mission while working alongside those of Haiti.

“They are working well with their Haitian counterparts in dealing with crime and training sessions,” he said.
Reports had indicated that the officers had complained that they had yet to be renumerated despite leading the mission from June 25, 2024. Kenya is leading the mission to fight criminal gangs in the Caribbean nation.

The team on the ground said their operations salaries had yet to be paid.

“Our officers in Haiti have received their payment up to the end of October,” Kanja stated.

He said the money was remitted to the relevant accounts in New York for onward payments.

There have been murmurs among some officers there the money was yet to be paid. Each of the 400 officers receive a pay of US$1,400 monthly. This is in addition to their payment.

Since its launch, the mission has been facing financial challenges as several foreign nations are yet to honour their pledges.

The UN-backed mission receives funds voluntarily from donor countries through a trust fund. However, failure by donor countries to fulfill their promises has led to logistical challenges for the Kenyan officers in the Caribbean nation.

Additionally, reports from the Treasury revealed that Kenya spent over Sh2 billion for the mission while waiting to be reimbursed by the UN.

“This money we are spending on behalf of the UN, we are the ones making the payment so the money comes from our exchequer because these are our officers,” Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said.

The fate of the mission now hangs in the balance, with critics questioning whether US President-elect Donald Trump would honour the Ksh.12 billion commitment.

Following his election victory, President Ruto called Trump to discuss the importance of the Haiti mission and possible areas of cooperation with his administration.

“I briefed President Trump on the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti and possible areas of cooperation with the US government on this important conflict resolution initiative,” Ruto said on November 9, 2024.

“We discussed areas of mutual interest that are of benefit to the citizens of our two countries, including trade and investment, security and good governance.