The High Court of Kenya, reports Reuters, ordered Friday that “senior officials be brought to justice to prevent the government from deploying police forces in Haiti”, following violence “planned” by terrorist gangs, according to Haitian observers. The Court set the hearing for June 12.
Ekuru Aukot and Miruru Waweru filed the suit Thursday to block the police deployment, which is part of a U.N.-backed mission to help Haiti combat gang violence. The plaintiffs argued that the government’s agreement with Haiti to deploy police officers was in contempt of a January court ruling that found the deployment unconstitutional and illegal. The plaintiffs emphasized the urgency of the matter, noting that the deployment was scheduled for May 23.
The Kenyan Parliament approved the deployment of 10,000 agents to Haiti in November. However, the Nairobi High Court declared the decision unconstitutional, citing that Kenya could only send police officers to Haiti if the two countries had a reciprocal agreement under sections 107 and 108 of the Police Service Act. National Police Service Act.
In March, Kenya and Haiti signed a security agreement providing for the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti to restore order. The move was opposed by leading political figures. Operations appeared to halt in March due to the forced resignation of de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry, but Kenyan President William Ruto confirmed that Kenya would continue to lead the UN security support mission in Haiti , as he had promised – but at what cost!
