An injunction prohibiting the government from sending hundreds of police personnel to Haiti as part of a UN-backed operation to calm the volatile Caribbean country was extended by a Kenyan court.
The decision came after the UN issued a warning that security in Haiti, where violent gangs rule significant portions of the nation, has further deteriorated and that serious crimes have reached “record highs.”
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The UN Security Council gave its approval early in October for the deployment of a multinational operation led by Kenya that is not part of the UN to support the overworked Haitian police.
On the other hand, opposition lawmaker Ekuru Aukot successfully petitioned the High Court of Nairobi for an interim injunction, arguing that the deployment was illegal since it was not authorized by any law or treaty.
High Court judge Enock Mwita stated that doing so would be “an academic exercise” because “this court became seized of this matter earlier than everyone else” and doing so would be counterproductive.
He declared that a public court session will be held to hear the petition in a quicker method starting on November 9.
With the latest court order that halted deployment until the issue was heard and decided, Aukot told the news media he was “very happy and excited.”
Aukot, a lawyer who assisted in the creation of Kenya’s 2010 constitution, claimed that the court had improved the directives.
He noted that the judge has not yet given its approval, as necessary by law, therefore the specifics of Kenya’s deployment are still undetermined.
The deployment had been “ratified” by Kenya’s cabinet, which announced this on October 13 and sent the motion to parliament for confirmation.
However, Aukot declared that the decision was unlawful and threatened to file a lawsuit against the whole government.
“They are doing a cleanup and seeking approvals after we got the court injunction.”
Kenya’s participation has drawn criticism at home, where some have questioned the necessity of such a perilous operation.
Rights watchdogs also claim Kenyan police have a history of employing sometimes fatal force against people, and that they represent an unacceptable risk in Haiti where foreign forces have committed atrocities in earlier missions.
“We are not taking our officers to Haiti as guinea pigs,” stated Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki in defense of the deployment earlier this month.
Kenya is seen as a beacon of democracy in East Africa and has taken part in peacekeeping missions both locally, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and internationally, notably in Somalia.
The economy and public health system are in shambles, and armed gangs have been waging horrific atrocities and seizing control of areas of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, for years.
