Kenya police boss denies reports officers in Haiti peacekeeping mission haven’t been paid in months

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s top police official has denied reports that officers serving in the United Nations-backed multinational peacekeeping mission in Haiti have gone unpaid for three months.

The police inspector general, Douglas Kanja, on Thursday said officers in Haiti had been paid “up to the end of October.” He was reacting to Kenyan media reports citing deployed officers who complained that their salaries had not been paid for three months.

Kenya is leading a contingent of foreign police in the troubled Caribbean country to help quell gang violence. The Kenyan officers deployed in June marked the fourth major foreign military or police intervention in Haiti.

While some Haitians welcome them, others view the force with caution, given that the previous intervention — the U.N.’s 2004-2017 peacekeeping mission — was marred by allegations of sexual assault and the introduction of cholera, which killed nearly 10,000 people.

Financial reports from Kenya’s Treasury revealed that Kenya spent over 2 billion Kenyan shillings ($15 million) for the mission while waiting to be reimbursed by the U.N.

“This money we are spending on behalf of the U.N., we are the ones making the payment so the money comes from our exchequer because these are our officers,” Treasury Minister John Mbadi told domestic media last week.

More than 4,500 people have been reported killed in Haiti so far this year, and another 2,060 injured, according to the U.N.

Gang violence also has displaced an estimated 700,000 people in recent years as gunmen burn and pillage communities in a push to control more territory.

A growing number of people have criticized the Kenyan-led mission, noting that police have not seized control of gang strongholds or arrested any gang leaders.

Gang violence worsened last month as the United States and other countries pushed for a U.N. peacekeeping mission, noting that the current Kenyan-led mission lacks resources and funding.