High Court Temporarily Stops Deployment of Kenya Police to Haiti

A Nairobi court yesterday imposed a temporary halt on the planned dispatch of police officers to Haiti for a peacekeeping operation.

In compliance with Justice Chacha Mwita's order, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has been instructed to hold off on police deployment until the scheduled hearing for the petition proffered by Thirdway Alliance. The directive suspends the respondents from dispatching law enforcement to any destination, most specifically to Haiti until the 24th of October, 2023. The judge has also directed that the respondents be promptly served with the pleadings and that they file their responses to the petition within three days of being served. Subsequently, the petitioners will have three days after being served to submit any supplementary affidavit, if applicable, along with written submissions to the petition.

A limit of 10 pages has been imposed on submissions. Those submitting have a period of three days after receiving the documents to draft and present written submissions in defence of the petition opposition. It's worth noting that new directions will be provided on the 24th of October. Ekuru Aukot has laid a litigation suit against President William Ruto and his office, with the objective of halting the operations of the peacekeeping team intending on sending not less than 1,000 police officials to the country enduring an increase in gang violence.

Recent reports reveal that Kenya's UN-endorsed mission in Haiti has been criticized due to Constitutional violations. Speaking on Sunday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki conveyed that the Kenyan police will be deployed to Haiti in light of consent of the National Assembly and Senate, as required by the Constitution. He emphasized the importance of upholding the rule of law and avoiding any disregard for established procedures, stating that deploying police officers to Haiti must be conducted in strict adherence to the Constitution.