We Were Conned, Say Haiti Mission Cops

Mission to Haiti faced with claims of fraud as first batch of 400 officers departs in what had been planned to be secret

By THEDISPATCH.DIGITAL REPORTER

Kenyan police officers on the restoration of order mission to Haiti yesterday said they were conned of thousands of shillings by their facilitators.

The Haiti mission has been on the lips of Kenyans for several months since President William Ruto decided to send in officers to help restore order in the gang-controlled country, starting with the capital at Port Au Prince. But it faced opposition from law and human rights activists who argued it was illegal and the country had no business sending police officers to a foreign country. The courts put a stop to the deployment, which was restarted due to the persistence of the government.

For some unclear reasons, the departure of the officers to Haiti was kept secret, and it appears the Government decided to publicize it after a visit to the Administration Police Training College at Embakasi by the President, an unusual activity in itself. Usually, foreign missions are released from Statehouse. Sources revealed that the mission was in its routine release process by its commanders when the President joined it and footage was provided by Statehouse as no media were invited.

Before they were released, the officers had been promised Sh100,000 each to pout their affairs’ in order before they left. However, each of the officers received only Sh20,000. Officers contacted said they suspected they had been conned by their seniors, who are believed to have deducted the money and shared it wit top officials at Harambee House. With 1,000 officers on the mission, the scam has netted Sh80 million for the fraudsters. Some sources went further and claimed that the officers’ pay may be stolen, even though they are going on the most dangerous mission ever to be undertaken by a Kenyan force, police or military