Haiti’s newly installed government has announced the replacement of the head of the beleaguered national police force, in the latest effort to respond to gang violence in the crisis-stricken country.
Police chief Frantz Elbe will be replaced by former chief Rameau Normil, the prime minister’s office has confirmed.
The move comes as Haiti’s new Prime Minister, Garry Conille, faces increasing pressure to strengthen the Haitian National Police. The force remained woefully underfunded and ill-equipped despite being at the forefront of the battle against powerful armed bands in the Caribbean country.
Conille himself was sworn in by a transitional council in May, after gangs earlier this year seized large swathes of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and ousted former Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency following the announcement of the change on Friday, Pierre Esperance, from the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), described Elba’s period as police chief as “catastrophic”.
“The results of Elba in charge of the police are catastrophic,” Esperance said, adding that he believes Elba should be prosecuted.
“He spent the entire time establishing relationships with gangs, reinforcing gangs and preventing police officers from doing their jobs and risking their lives,” he said.
Haiti’s police unions have also repeatedly called for Elba’s dismissal and arrest, pointing to gang attacks on at least 30 police stations and substations in recent months as part of a series of attacks that began on February 29.
On Wednesday, police union SPNH-17 held a press conference condemning the state of the department under Elba. SYNAPOHA, another police union, joined the call for Conille to bolster the department earlier this week.
The latest development came as Haiti continued to await the deployment of a Kenyan-led, UN-backed multinational security force made up of 1,000 Kenyan officers as well as personnel from a handful of Caribbean countries.
This force was supposed to be deployed at the end of May, but its arrival was repeatedly delayed.
In turn, Normil headed the national police from mid-2019 until the end of 2020 under the command of former president Jovenel Moise, murdered in 2021.
Before that, he oversaw the detective division. The effective date of the replacement was not immediately clear.
Fight against gang violence
Haiti’s rapidly shrinking police force has suffered from a lack of resources as it battles criminal groups armed with high-caliber weapons that the UN says are largely trafficked from the neighboring United States.
In 2023, the police force had just over 13,200 employees, according to the UN. The international organization warned that only around 4,000 police officers are on duty at any given time in a country of 11 million people.
Meanwhile, a recent RNDDH inquiry revealed that 20 police officers have been killed so far this year, with more than 320 since 2015.
Regular complaints from police officers included late payments, insufficient training, workplace harassment, threats of dismissal, knife and gunshot injuries, and lack of equipment.
However, Haiti’s new government led by Conille has promised to bring about change.
“Haiti faces great challenges. Violence and instability paralyze our daily lives,” said Conille at an official ceremony on Wednesday.
“My government will work tirelessly to improve the conditions of every Haitian,” he said, adding that “without security, no sustainable progress can be achieved.”
“It is crucial that our police and soldiers are ready to face today’s security challenges,” Conille added, “and we will ensure they have the necessary tools to carry out their mission effectively and professionally.”
In turn, Haiti’s Ombudsman, the Citizens Protection Office, called on Normil to produce a plan to control gangs and improve the police force “without delay.”
He also called on authorities to offer explanations for the high murder rate and the recent “spectacular” escape of some 4,500 prisoners under the “complete indifference” of previous authorities.
Gang violence in Haiti has driven 578,000 people from their homes, according to the latest UN estimates. Thousands of people were killed and millions were pushed into acute starvation amid the unrest.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
