The High Court has intervened to halt the Interior Ministry's approval of a proposal to deploy Kenyan police officers to Haiti, a mission aimed at restoring peace in the troubled Caribbean island.
Justice Chacha Mwita issued a conservatory order on Monday, preventing the government from sending 1,000 police officers to Haiti, following the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) approval on October 2.
The court order stated, "A conservatory order is hereby issued restraining the respondents from deploying police officers to Haiti or any other country until October 24, 2023."
The legality of the deployment, which could challenge the US-backed mission, has been challenged in a petition filed by the Third Way Alliance through Ekuru Aukot on October 6.
Justice Mwita emphasized that the issues raised in the petition were of national importance and required urgent consideration.
The respondents were instructed to file their responses within three days of the ruling.
The court document further outlined the timeline for submissions: "The petitioners will then have three days after service to file and serve a supplementary affidavit, if any, together with the written submissions to the petition, not exceeding 10 pages. The respondents will have 3 days to file and serve written submissions to the petition also not exceeding 10 pages."
The petition named Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula, and four others as defendants.
The United Nations Security Council had approved a multinational force led by Kenya to deploy police to the gang-dominated Haiti. The decision received support from 13 out of 15 council members, with two abstentions and no votes against it.
The United States had already committed to providing Ksh 14.8 billion ($100 million) to support Kenya's participation in the mission.
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