Kenyan Court Objects to Police Assignment in Haiti

The Kenyan government’s decision to deploy a police force to Haiti under a UN-backed mission was declared “illegal” by a Kenyan court last Friday. The judgement calls into question the future of an international force that Haiti’s government has been advocating for in the face of rampant gang violence.

The Background

The UN Security Council endorsed the assignment in October. However, concerns over Kenya’s involvement triggered a legal action in the nation. Recently, Judge Enock Chacha Mwita of Nairobi ruled that any decision to send police officers to Haiti was against the constitution and law, thereby making it unconstitutional, illegal, and invalid.

As a result, a prohibition has been placed on deploying police forces to Haiti or any other country, he declared.

The Opposition’s Perspective

Ekuru Aukot, the opposition politician who challenged Nairobi’s decision to deploy the police in Haiti, expressed the possibility that the government may appeal the ruling. “We will still be waiting for them at the court of appeal, and we will go all the way to the Supreme Court,” he claimed. According to him, the government should be grateful for being saved from such an embarrassment.

Despite this outcome, the Kenyan government’s official response to the ruling remains undisclosed.

Kenya’s Stance

In the past, the Kenyan administration had proposed providing up to 1,000 personnel to Haiti, a proposal that was welcomed by the United States and several other countries that had opted out of sending their own troops to the ground.

Recently, Martin Kimani, Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations, stated that considerable progress had been made regarding the mission, which received approval from the parliament.

Response from Haiti

Haiti’s Foreign Minister recently appealed for a faster deployment, informing the U.N. Security Council about the severity of gang violence in the country. Jean Victor Geneus, in his address, emphasized that the Haitian populace is at its limit and expressed hope that the multinational force would provide much-needed support to their local security forces.

Understanding the Severity

Gang activity is rampant now in major parts of the country, leading to a significant increase in homicides. Gang members significantly outnumber and outgun local security forces, making the situation increasingly volatile.

The economic instability, together with the deteriorating health system, has further plummeted the western hemisphere’s least developed nation into chaos. The situation worsened in 2021 with the murder of President Jovenel Moise, and the presidential office has remained vacant without any elections since 2016.