Kenya pledges to appeal court order opposing the deployment of Haitians

Kenya’s government announced Friday to appeal a court decision that disapproved of its move to dispatch a police contingent to lead a law and order operation supported by the UN in the Caribbean country beset by gang violence.

The decision labeling the deployment “illegal” casts doubt on the future of a multinational force that Haiti’s government has long sought and begged for in order to combat violence that has claimed almost 5,000 lives.

Early in October, the UN Security Council gave its approval for the mission. However, Nairobi’s involvement raised concerns in Kenya, which led to a legal challenge.

On Friday, judge Enock Chacha Mwita ruled that “any decision by any state organ or state officer to deploy police officers to Haiti… contravenes the constitution and the law and is therefore unconstitutional, illegal and invalid.”

“An order is hereby issued prohibiting deployment of police forces to Haiti or any other country,” he said at Nairobi High Court.

Hours later, the authorities responded, with spokesman Isaac Mwaura saying: “While the government respects the rule of law, we have however made the decision to challenge the high court’s verdict forthwith.”

“The government reiterates its commitment in honouring its international obligations,” he said.

Ekuru Aukot, the opposition politician who challenged the deployment, said he was prepared for a long fight.

“We will still be waiting for them at the court of appeal, and we will go all the way to the Supreme Court. They should be thanking me for saving the government this embarrassment,” he told AFP.

The government had previously said it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, an offer welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground.

Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations, Martin Kimani, on Thursday said that “significant progress” had been made in preparations towards the mission, which had parliamentary approval.

In the face of criticism, President William Ruto had described the Kenyan undertaking as a “mission for humanity” and one in step with its long record of contributing to peacekeeping missions abroad.

– War zone –

Haiti’s foreign minister on Thursday pleaded for the deployment to be speeded up, telling the UN Security Council that gang violence in the country was as barbaric as the horrors experienced in war zones.

“The Haitian people cannot take any more. I hope this time is the last time I will speak before the deployment of a multinational force to support our security forces,” Jean Victor Geneus told the council.

Gangs now run rampant in large swathes of the country and homicides in Haiti more than doubled last year to nearly 4,800 murders, according to a UN report released Tuesday.

The multinational mission — initially approved for one year — had envisioned Kenyan police on the offensive with their Haitian counterparts, who are outnumbered and outgunned by gang members.

Haiti, the Western hemisphere’s poorest nation, has been in turmoil for years, with armed gangs taking over parts of the country and unleashing brutal violence, and the economy and public health system in tatters.

The 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise plunged the country further into chaos. No elections have taken place since 2016 and the presidency remains vacant.

(with inputs from AFP)