Haiti mission: Why Aukot, Kabando want Biden, UN halt Ruto's deployment plan
Ekuru Aukot.
What you need to know:
- The Thirdway Alliance Party pointed out that the Kenyan public is unaware of the reciprocal agreement signed by President William Ruto and ousted Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in March, as it was not published in the Kenya Gazette.
- They said an elected president must make the request.
The Thirdway Alliance Party is now accusing President William Ruto of circumventing the law by approving the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti before fully complying with the court order setting out the conditions for the deployment.
In a petition to the United Nations, United States President Joe Biden, and the Democratic and Republican parties, the Ekuru Aukot-led party, former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando and former Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia want the deployment—with a planned advance team of 200 said to be leaving next week—stopped and the law followed, first.
The duo argues that Haiti's government lacks legitimacy and violates constitutional provisions.
“The High Court in Petition No. HCCHRPET/E38/2023 an order prohibiting deployment of NPS to any other state except when in compliance with part XIV sections 107 and 108 of the National Police Service Act.
"The Executive arm's blatant disregard of the court orders demonstrates the total defilement of the Constitution that serves as a reference point for law and order throughout the nation. Furthermore, majority of Kenyans have expressed their reservations over our participation of this peace mission,” read the petition.
The party went to court on Friday to halt the impending deployment of a 1,000-strong contingent to Haiti, citing blatant disregard for court orders.
The High Court had blocked the deployment in a January ruling due to the absence of a reciprocal agreement between the two nations.
Further, the party pointed out that the Kenyan public is unaware of the reciprocal agreement signed by President William Ruto and ousted Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in March, as it was not published in the Kenya Gazette.
They said an elected president must make the request.
In the instant case, they argued, the democratically elected president of Haiti ought to have made the request.
“A democratically elected president must make the request of the requesting country. In the instant case, the democratically elected president of Haiti ought to have made the request. The reciprocal arrangement must then be published in the official Kenya gazette in order that the people of Kenya must know that their NPS is being deployed externally,” read a part in the petition.
The party also claimed that there was no public participation or parliamentary approval before Kenya's involvement in the intended peace mission in gang-ridden Haiti was announced, rendering President William Ruto's decision a constitutional illegality.
“The matter was not tabled before parliament for deliberation and while the president may use his authority to make such a declaration, there are nuances to the scope of his power. The president's power is further limited during peacetime more so with regards to the utilization of the NPS on foreign engagements.
"Additionally, the executive failed to engage the public who continue to express their distaste for the executive's misplaced priorities,” Dr Aukot and Mr Kisia said.
They further added that the police service is inadequately trained to oversee this type of mission.
The unfamiliar environment provides its own unique challenges.
“The NPS is not battle-tested to manage conflict resolution with civilian/militia with access to firearms Additionally, Kenyan personnel will encounter language and cultural challenges of key importance in any mission is intelligence collection and language familiarity that forms a sizable portion of the process. Cultural differences will also dissuade interactions between the NPS and the locals who already express bias towards foreign intervention,” the duo said.
Kenya pledged last July to deploy up to 1,000 personnel to Haiti, an offer welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground. The expected deployment of a first batch of Kenyan police to the Caribbean nation would coincide with a visit by President William Ruto to Washington where he will meet US President Joe Biden on May 23.
“Our considered opinion the USA should be the last country to urge any other country to go and restore law and order in another country. The USA’S record of destroying other countries is recorded in history,” read a part in the petition.
