Spanish
Port-au-Prince.- Since June 2024, Kenyan soldiers from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) in Haiti patrol areas controlled by armed gangs in Port-au-Prince, facing constant violence and precarious conditions, amid a humanitarian crisis that keeps the country on the brink of collapse.
A convoy of armored vehicles advances through the dusty streets of Pétion-Ville. Inside, Kenyan soldiers exchange orders in English; their faces are tense, weapons at the ready.
They are going to patrol an area near Toussaint Louverture International Airport, still under gang control. The tension is palpable. Since they arrived in Haiti in 2024, the uniformed officers from Kenya have been on the front lines.
“We are the only ones who really confront the bandits,” says one of the officers, under condition of anonymity.
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“The other countries take care of the security of buildings or evacuating the wounded. The dangerous part is all for us,” he adds.
Of the more than a thousand Kenyans deployed, several have been victims of violence. Two died in Artibonite and others were injured in ambushes in July 2024 and March 2025, according to the sources consulted without specifying the number of victims.
“The criminals have better weapons than us,” laments the soldier.
Internal tension and lack of strategy
According to United Nations, nearly 90% of the capital is under the control of armed groups, more than 5,600 people were killed in 2024 and more than a million have been displaced. The national police are overwhelmed and humanitarian resources are running out.
In this context, Kenyans denounce internal failures within the mission itself. Officers consulted by EFE complain of precarious working conditions, erratic strategic decisions, and problems with their payments.
A police general, Douglas Kanja, stated that the officers in Haiti had been paid "until the end of October", when the mission began in June 2024, information corroborated by several international media outlets.
The criticisms also point to the organization of the mission and the military team. “The armored vehicles constantly break down. We have no air cover. And yet, we are ordered to deploy on multiple fronts,” relates an officer.
