Haiti’s multinational police mission denies reports of unpaid wages

According to reports that some of the officers on a UN-backed security mission in Haiti have been absent for months without pay, a Kenyan force led by a UN-backed security mission has been denied.

The Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti (MSS) “categorically refutes” reports that officers have been receiving no pay for three months in a statement released on Friday.

“All MSS personnel have received their salaries, including monthly allowances, and no MSS officer has tendered their resignation as alleged”, the statement reads.

The Haitian National Police [HNP] is supported by MSS officers in carrying out decisive operations to end gang networks and restore stability.

The MSS is trying to change the situation in Haiti, where armed gangs have wreaked havoc on civilian life and caused instability there.

The UN estimates as much as 85 percent of&nbsp, the capital of Port-au-Prince has fallen under gang control. More than 700, 000 people are displaced across Haiti as a result of the violence.

Nearly 20 Kenyan officers resigned from the MSS over delays in pay and poor working conditions, according to three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity in an exclusive story published on Friday.

MSS stated in its statement that Reuters did not request comment from the mission prior to publication, but a news agency spokesman has confirmed that Reuters adheres to the story.

Since arriving in Haiti in June, the mission has made scant progress despite the country’s reputation for having a poor track record of foreign interventions there.

From the beginning, there were issues with funding. While originally envisioned as a policing mission staffed by 2, 500 personnel, Kenya has sent only about 400 officers since June.

Questions have also surfaced about the mission’s primary financial supporter, the United States,’ ability to maintain funding.

Although the Kenyan-led effort has been promoted by US President Joe Biden’s administration, it’s not clear whether that support will continue until 2025, when Biden is replaced by President-elect Donald Trump.

Officials from the US and other countries have pushed for the UN to launch a peacekeeping mission in Haiti in response to the lack of funding.

However, a previous UN peacekeeping mission there ended in 2017 amid criticism for its role in reinstating cholera and sexual assault allegations.

Since Jovenel Moise’s assassination in 2021, security in Haiti has declined. However, gang violence has continued to rise even in the Kenyan army, and the nation is still trying to establish a stable government.

The gangs have relied on Haiti to assert its legitimacy by holding federal elections for the first time in years.