Kenya is going to push ahead with plans to lead a UN-approved security mission to Haiti, despite a court in Nairobi last week blocking the deployment, Kenyan President William Ruto told Reuters on Tuesday.
The international force is aimed at tackling rampant gang violence in the Caribbean nation, which killed nearly 5,000 people last year, and is due to be initially financed by the United States.
The mission was thrown into doubt after the Kenyan court ruled that it would be unconstitutional to deploy officers abroad unless there was a “reciprocal arrangement” in place with the host government.
Ruto said Haiti had asked for help months ago, and he expected a request would come shortly that would satisfy the demands of the court.
“So that mission can go ahead as soon as next week, if all the paperwork is done between Kenya and Haiti on the bilateral route that has been suggested by the court,” Ruto said following an Italian-Africa summit in Rome.
REUTERS.
