Kenyan Cabinet greenlights Haiti peacekeeping force; parliamentary approval still needed

Kenya’s Cabinet on Friday approved the deployment of 1,000 police to lead a multinational peacekeeping mission to Haiti to combat gang violence.

The country’s parliament must now sign off on the resolution.

From Jan. 1 until Aug. 15, more than 2,400 people in Haiti were reported killed, more than 950 kidnapped and another 902 injured, according to the most recent U.N. statistics.

KENYA TO LEAD MULTINATIONAL FORCE IN HAITI TO COMBAT GANGS

Kenya’s high court on Monday barred the deployment, approved by the U.N. Security Council earlier this month, for two weeks until a challenge to the deployment filed by a local politician is heard on Oct. 24.

On Thursday, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki appeared before a national assembly committee on the deployment and said parliament’s approval should be sought before any troops are sent.

KENYA AWAITING PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL TO DEPLOY UN-BACKED ANTI-GANG FORCE TO HAITI

The minister was accompanied by the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, who confirmed that training had started for the first group of officers to be sent to Haiti.

The Kenya-led peacekeeping force was approved by a United Nations Security Council resolution on Oct. 2. The mission would be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million.

The deployment has been controversial in Kenya, with opposition leader Raila Odinga last week criticizing the country’s involvement saying Kenya had its own security challenges.

Kenya has yet to confirm a deployment date for the 1,000 officers it planned to send to Haiti. President William Ruto said on Oct .3 that the Kenya-led force would “not fail the people of Haiti.”