Kenyan police are leaving for a controversial deployment in Haiti

25/6/2024 7:42

        Hundreds of Kenyan police officers were leaving for Haiti, where they will lead a multinational force against the powerful gangs, whose deadly violence spiked this year and helped bring about a change in government.
        
        The deployment is controversial. The government of Kenyan President William Ruto is defying a court's ruling calling it unconstitutional. And critics have expressed concern about the long history of alleged abuses by police officers.
        
        The 400 police officers are the first of the 1,000 that Kenya expects to send for the United Nations-led force in Haiti. Ruto's sendoff ceremony on Monday was closed to the media, but his office shared a speech in which he urged the officers to uphold integrity.
        
        "We have mediated many conflicts and are currently engaged in resolving more," he said. "Don’t let down the confidence the people of Kenya and the international community have in you."
        
        A court case seeking to block the deployment is pending, but an initial ruling had called the deployment unconstitutional, citing the lack of a reciprocal agreement between Kenya and Haiti.