The Kenya-led military has launched a counter-offensive after reports that about 20 officers have resigned from the force over non-payment of wages.
The Kenyan military-led, UN-backed security mission in Haiti denied reports that some of its officers had gone unpaid for months.
Haiti’s Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) said in a statement Friday that it “unequivocally refutes” reports that officers had not been paid for three months.
The statement said, “All MSS employees received salaries, including monthly salary, and not a single MSS official submitted a letter of resignation as claimed.”
“MSS officers remain highly motivated and committed to supporting the Haitian National Police (HNP) in conducting decisive operations to dismantle gang networks and restore stability.”
The alleged unpaid wages come as MSS struggles to influence the situation in Haiti, where armed gangs have wreaked havoc on violence, wreaking havoc on civilian life and destabilizing the country.
The United Nations estimates that 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince, is controlled by gangs. The violence has displaced more than 700,000 people across Haiti.
About 20 Kenyan officers have resigned from MSS over unpaid wages and poor working conditions, Reuters reported in an exclusive article on Friday, citing three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
MSS said in a statement that Reuters did not contact its representatives for comment before the article was published, but a spokeswoman for the news agency said Reuters stood by the article.
The mission, already under scrutiny for its poor record on foreign involvement in Haiti, has made little progress since arriving in the Caribbean island nation last June.
Difficulties with financing were present from the beginning. Originally planning to deploy 2,500 police personnel, Kenya has only sent about 400 police officers since June.
Questions have also been raised about the stability of funding from the United States, the mission’s main financial backer.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has encouraged Kenya-led efforts, but it is unclear whether that support will continue in 2025 when Biden is replaced by President-elect Donald Trump.
In response to the funding shortage, officials in the United States and other countries urged the United Nations to launch a peacekeeping mission in Haiti.
But a previous UN peacekeeping mission ended in 2017 amid accusations of its role in reintroducing cholera into the country and allegations of sexual assault.
Security in Haiti has worsened since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. But despite the presence of the Kenyan military, gang violence continues to rise and the country continues to struggle to establish stable governance.
Haiti has not held federal elections in years, and gangs have used this fact to assert legitimacy.
Moreover, last month, Haiti’s transitional council, tasked with restoring democracy, dismissed interim Prime Minister Gary Corneal after just six months in office. The move raised further questions about corruption in the interim government and the future of Haiti’s leadership.
