Kenya parliament approves deployment of police to Haiti to assist cope with gang violence

NAIROBI, Kenya — NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) —

The Kenyan parliament on Thursday accepted the deployment of 1000 law enforcement officials to Haiti to assist cope with rising gang violence within the Caribbean nation.

The nationwide meeting backed a movement tabled by parliament’s Committee on Administration and Inside Safety approving the federal government request for sending the safety officers as violence escalated in Haiti.

The heated debate noticed opposition legislators rejecting the federal government plans for Kenya to guide a multinational policing crew in Haiti, saying it violated the nation’s structure. Supporters of the movement stated Kenya had an ethical obligation and obligation to help Haiti.

The deliberate deployment was blocked by the Excessive Court docket in Nairobi in October. On Thursday, the courtroom was attributable to rule on a case by former presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot who stated the mission, backed by the United Nations, “was a mistake and a suicide mission.”

Burundi, Chad, Senegal, Jamaica and Belize have all pledged troops for the multinational mission which may value Kenya greater than $230 Million.

Violence has escalated in Haiti as a heavily-armed gang surrounded a hospital within the capital Port-au-prince Wednesday, trapping sufferers who included 40 youngsters and newborns. Police later rescued the folks.

Gangs throughout Haiti have continued to develop extra highly effective because the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and the variety of kidnappings and killings retains rising.