Ekuru Aukot petitions UN to stop deployment of Kenya police to Haiti

Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot says he will petition the United Nations seeking to put a stop to the deployment of National Police Service (NPS) officers to Haiti.

In his petition, Aukot accuses Kenya and the United States of being among countries that have meddled in the affairs of Haiti, causing suffering among the people of the Caribbean nation.

Aukot says the planned deployment of the Kenyan police is an excuse to carry on with the recolonisation of Haiti.

The Thirdway Alliance party boss, who filed a petition in court on Friday seeking to put a stop to the planned deployment, said the plan will be in violation of the Kenyan Constitution.

He argues that Kenya has her own security challenges and lacks sufficient information on the scale, scope and nature of the conflict in Haiti.

Aukot, whose petition to the United Nations is done alongside former MP Kabando wa Kabando and former Nairobi town clerk Philip Kisia, says all caring citizens of the world should protest what the trio calls the intended invasion of Haiti.

This comes after it emerged that approximately 200 Kenyan police officers will be deployed to Haiti next week as part of the UN Security Council-backed security mission to Port-au-Prince.

Kenya, in July 2023, volunteered to lead the mission and deploy 1,000 troops to restore order to the troubled Caribbean nation overrun by marauding criminal gangs.

The US government has pledged $100 million (Ksh.13 billion) to support the mission to Haiti, further urging other nations to make similar contributions.

Around half of the platoon, which will operate from a barrack recently established by the US government, will be tasked with securing critical infrastructure in Port-au-Prince while the rest will engage the criminal gangs in close-quarter combat.

In March, Ruto announced the signing of an agreement between Kenya and Haiti to facilitate Nairobi's involvement in the multinational security mission.