UN forces stationed in Haiti. Photo Gov.uk
By Global News Service
A High Court in Nairobi has extended its orders blocking the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti. The ruling was issued on November 16, shortly after the parliament approved a request by the government to authorize sending 1,000 officers to Port-au-Prince.
On October 2, the UN Security Council approved the U.S.-drafted resolution for a year-long “Multinational Security Support” (MSS) mission to Haiti, whose mandate would include the protection of “critical infrastructure” and to provide “operational support” to the Haitian National Police, including through joint security operations.
The deployment has been rejected by the Haitian people, who have taken to the streets in mass protests against “foreign occupation.”
On October 9, the High Court in Nairobi issued a “conservatory order” halt on the planned deployment until a legal challenge brought by the Thirdway Alliance party could be heard. The party’s leader, Ekuru Aukot, has contested that the mission is in violation of Kenya’s constitution, and is not backed by any law or treaty.
“Despite there being a court order against deployment dated 25 October 2023 by Justice Enock Mwita, a belligerent and politically-expedient parliament… went ahead to… deploy 1,000 police officers to Haiti. Kenya has no leadership but puppets of [the] USA, France, and Canada,” Aukot posted on the social media platform X.
from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service