By Edwin Okoth
NAIROBI (Reuters) -Nearly 20 of the roughly 400 Kenyan police officers serving in Haiti on a U.N.-backed anti-gang force have submitted letters of resignation from the mission over the past two months because of pay delays and poor conditions, three officers told Reuters.
The officers have received no response to their letters and continue to serve on the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, said the three officers, who requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media.
The MSS in Haiti, which is led by top Kenyan police officers, said in a statement sent after publication of this article that it "categorically refutes" the assertions by Reuters that MSS officers were considering resigning over payment delays. It said personnel "have received their salaries, including monthly allowances, and no MSS officer has tendered their resignation."
A Reuters spokesperson said that, while the news agency did not seek comment from the MSS before the publication of the story, it stands by the accuracy of its reporting.
Kenya's national police spokesperson did not respond to calls and messages seeking comment about the resignation letters, pay delays and working conditions.
On Wednesday, national police chief Douglas Kanja addressed reports in Kenyan media of pay delays at a news conference, saying the officers had been paid "up to the end of October".
The three officers disputed this, saying they were last paid in September.
Kenya has deployed about 400 officers since June to lead the MSS, which is meant to comprise around 2,500 personnel from about 10 countries, but the force has been hobbled by funding and staffing shortfalls.
Only a handful of officers from the other countries have arrived in Haiti, and a pledge in October by Kenyan President William Ruto to send another 600 officers the following month did not materialise.
The three officers told Reuters that colleagues began to submit letters of resignation in October after trying to resign verbally and being told to put their requests in writing.
Three officers submitted resignation letters in October and another 15 or so in November. Among them were at least five senior officers, including a unit commander, who was the first to submit a letter in October, they said.
GANG VIOLENCE WORSENS
Gang violence that has killed thousands across Haiti over the past two years has worsened recently, with armed groups spreading last month into some of the last parts of the capital Port-au-Prince that were not already under their control.
One officer said he had not been prepared for what he encountered in Haiti and has been "tormented by scenes like dogs eating human flesh on the streets".
The officers also said they did not have adequate ammunition to counter the gangs, who have stepped up attacks on Kenyan police positions.
The mission has faced morale issues nearly from the start.
Four officers told Reuters in September that they faced delays receiving their pay and shortages of equipment and manpower. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has provided the vast majority of the funding for the mission, and has been pushing to convert it into a U.N. peacekeeping force, which could shore up and diversify its funding.
However, China and Russia have voiced opposition, arguing for the MSS mission to be given more time to establish peace before sending in a peacekeeping mission.
Haiti suffered a fresh blow to political stability last month when its national transitional council pushed out the prime minister it had appointed six months earlier and named a new one, Alix Didier Fils-Aime.