(Nairobi) Kenya’s High Court on Monday banned the deployment of the country’s security forces to other countries for two weeks, until a suit filed by a local politician challenging such action as unconstitutional is resolved. examined.
The protest comes after Kenya agreed to lead a multinational force to combat violence by armed groups in Haiti, following a United Nations Security Council resolution approved last week. The mission would be financed by voluntary contributions, with the United States pledging up to 200 million.
Former presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot filed a petition on Friday against the deployment of Kenyan forces, arguing that the law authorizing the president to do so was contrary to the articles of the Constitution.
Mr Aukot’s petition also criticizes President William Ruto for agreeing to lead the international peacekeeping mission as Kenya grapples with security challenges stemming from militant attacks and, more recently, ethnic clashes.
High Court judge Chacha Mwita on Monday granted the defendants — including Mr. Ruto, the interior minister and the inspector general of police — three days to file a response to Mr. Ruto’s petition. . Aukot.
The next court hearing is set for October 24.
Last week, Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga also criticized Kenya’s involvement in the Haiti peacekeeping mission, saying the country had its own security challenges.
Kenya has not yet confirmed the deployment date of the 1,000 officers it plans to send to Haiti. Mr. Ruto said on October 3 that the Kenyan-led force “would not let the Haitian people down.”
From 1er January to August 15, more than 2,400 people were killed in Haiti, more than 950 were kidnapped and 902 others injured, according to the most recent UN statistics.