High court extends order barrying Kenyan police deployment to Haiti

The High Court in Kenya on Tuesday extended an order barring the government from deploying hundreds of police officers to Haiti on a UN-backed mission aiming to pacify the troubled Caribbean nation.

The ruling came a day after the United Nations warned that security in Haiti, where violent gangs control large swathes of the country, has collapsed even further, with major crimes hitting "record highs".

The UN Security Council gave the go-ahead in early October for the deployment of the non-UN multinational mission, led by Kenya, to help the overwhelmed Haitian police.

But the High Court in Nairobi subsequently granted an interim injunction in a case brought by constitutional lawyer Ekuru Aukot, who argued the deployment was unconstitutional as it was not backed by any law or treaty.

"This court became seized of this matter earlier than everyone else and it would not make sense for it to set aside or allow the interim orders to lapse," High Court judge Enock Mwita said, adding that doing so would amount to "an academic exercise".

He said the matter would be heard in an open court session from November 9 in "a quicker way".

Aukot told AFP he was "very happy and excited" about the new court order as it stopped deployment until the case was heard and determined.

"The judge has made the orders even better," said Aukot, a lawyer who helped draft Kenya's 2010 constitution.

Details of Kenya's deployment are still not finalised, with parliament yet to approve the move as required by law.

Kenya's cabinet said on October 13 that it had "ratified" the deployment and submitted the resolution to parliament for approval.

But Aukot said the decision was in contempt of court and that he would launch a legal challenge against all members of the cabinet.

"They are doing a cleanup and seeking approvals after we got the court injunction."

'Guinea pigs'

Kenya's involvement has been criticised at home, with many questioning the wisdom of such a risky mission.

Rights watchdogs also say Kenyan police have a history of using sometimes lethal force against civilians, and that they pose an unacceptable risk in Haiti where foreign troops have committed abuses in past interventions.

The opposition party Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) strongly voiced its concern and opposition over the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti to quell political unrest in the country.

ODM last week said the decision made by the Kenyan Government to lead a Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti was ill-advised, opportunistic, and undermines the spirit of Pan-Africanism.

The Orange party headed by the opposition leader Raila Odinga said Kenya's National Police Service is mandated constitutionally to enforce national security and does not possess an does not possess an external mandate.

ODM also took issue with the current internal security challenges faced in the country citing the cases in Sondu, Lamu, the North Rift and along the Somali border.

"The recommended ratio of police officers via population is one for every 450 citizens. Kenya's ratio is around 1 for every 1,000 citizens. We simply don't have policemen to spare," read the statement signed by ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna.

No immediate threat

ODM said Haiti's situation though tragic, doesn't pose any immediate threat to Kenya's national security as the two nations don't even share a border.

"Previous interventions in Haiti have been conducted by some of the most powerful nations on earth, with disastrous results on each occasion," ODM said.

"The breakdown of law and order in Haiti, are not superficial issues that require mere policing. The root causes go deeper than that."

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki defended the deployment earlier this month, saying they "are not taking our officers to Haiti as guinea pigs".

Additional reporting by Eastleigh Reporter