Kenyan police mission to Haiti inches closer despite legal hurdles

 

Haiti’s government on Wednesday, February 14 announced that it is working on an official agreement with Kenyan officials to secure the long-awaited deployment of a police force from Nairobi, according to local media.

Officials from Kenya and Haiti met in the US this week to set a deadline for the arrival of Kenyan forces as well as drafting a memorandum of understanding.

The Kenyan delegation was led by former Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet who is the deputy national security advisor to President William Ruto.

They met at a hotel in Washington DC where the discussions were held and agreements shared ahead of planned signing.

“The team has arrived on major agreements and it is expected back in Kenya this weekend ahead of the signing of a memorandum of understanding,” an official aware of the developments said.

The high court blocked the UN-backed deployment on January 26.

Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry made a request for a security deployment in October 2022, which was only approved by the UN Security Council a year later.

Henry has faced widespread protests calling for his resignation as the country continues to be gripped by gang violence during his tenure.

The UN has said that 800 people have been killed, injured, or kidnapped in Haiti in January, representing a three-fold increase to January 2023.

As suggested by the court on the need for reciprocity, Haiti had sent a memorandum of understanding to Kenya on the need to deploy the police officers there.

This prompted the meeting in Washington DC between the Kenyan team and that from Haiti.

Kenya's law provides for a mechanism in which police officers can be deployed abroad if there is a reciprocal arrangement with the host country.

Justice Chacha Mwita said Kenya’s National Security Council, which is led by the president, does not have the authority to deploy regular police outside the country.

“It is not contested that there is no reciprocal arrangement between Kenya and Haiti and for that reason, there can be no deployment of police to that country,” Mwita said.

The judge said Kenya’s offer was noble but needed to be carried out in accordance with the constitution.

The decision was considered by many to be a blow to Haiti, which first requested the immediate deployment of a foreign-armed force in October 2022.

And following the developments, Kenya sent a team to prepare for the signing of the MoU.

Kenya plans to deploy more than 1,000 officers to Haiti to help combat the gangs there.

The teams from the Rapid Deployment Unit, Anti Stock Theft Unit, General Service Unit, and Border Patrol Unit completed their circulating training from various camps on January 4 and are ready for deployment.

by CYRUS OMBATI