By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK | 30 October 2023 (IDN) — One thousand Kenyan soldiers will not be going to Haiti anytime soon.
That’s the word from the High Court in Kenya freezing a UN Security Council-approved mission to the Caribbean nation to combat gang violence there.
The mission was put on hold after a former presidential candidate, Ekuru Aukot, argued that the nation’s articles of the constitution denied President William Ruto the power to deploy the troops.
Aukot’s petition also faulted President Ruto for agreeing to lead the international peacekeeping mission while Kenya struggles with security issues arising from militant attacks and most recently ethnic clashes.
The Security Council resolution, drafted by the United States and Ecuador, authorizes the force to deploy for one year to help national police address surging gang activity and rampant violence, with a review after nine months.
Kenya’s national assembly has yet to schedule a debate on the motion to deploy the contingent, which is expected to be made up of about 1,000 police officers. The non-U.N. mission would be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million.
The High Court said that it would rule on the case on 9 November. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Photo: The governor of the North-Kivu Province, General Constant Ndima, third from left, greets Kenyan army troops as they land at Goma airport, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on 12 November 2022.
IDN is the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate.
