A Kenyan court on Friday prohibited the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police officers to Haiti, jeopardizing a multinational security force charged with stabilizing the chaos-hit Caribbean island nation before it even got off the ground.
The force, which is backed by the United Nations and financed by the United States, had been stalled since October, when Kenyan opponents of the mission challenged it in court, calling it unconstitutional.
“An order is issued prohibiting the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti or any other country,” Justice Chacha Mwita said at the conclusion of a judgment that took 40 minutes to read.
The international force was meant to help break the grip of the armed gangs that control most of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and have turned Haiti into one of the world’s most dangerous nations.
Haiti’s government has pleaded for foreign military forces to be sent in to restore order, but the United States and Canada have been unwilling to commit their own troops.
Persons:
Chacha Mwita
Organizations:
Kenyan, United Nations
Locations:
Haiti, jeopardizing, United States, Port, Canada