Kenyan court rules deployment of police officers to Haiti illegal

The High Court of Kenya in Nairobi ruled Friday (Jan. 26) that the planned deployment of Kenyan police officers to the Caribbean nation of Haiti was illegal.

The court said the National Security Council lacked the legal authority to send police officers to another country.

According to local media, the National Security Council petitioned Parliament to approve the deployment of Kenyan police officers last October.

The approval by lawmakers came amid a High Court order temporarily blocking the planned deployment pending the hearing of a petition filed by opposition leader Ekuru Aukot and two other petitioners.

The lawyer who helped draft Kenya's revised 2010 Constitution, argued the deployment was unconstitutional and charged that Kenya needed its police to quell insecurity within its own borders.

President William Ruto defended the deployment.

The court decision can be appealed.

Kenya was supposed to send 1,000 police officers and lead the UN-backed security mission

Over a year ago, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry asked the UN to urgently deploy a multinational force. The number of kidnappings and killings keeps rising on the island nation.