Kenya opposition coalition warns U.S to respect court ruling on police deployment to Haiti

NAIROBI, Kenya

The Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party has urged the United States government to respect the High Court's ruling barring the government from deploying police to troubled Haiti.

This comes after the High Court on Friday declared that the National Security Council lacks the authority to dispatch police officers to another country.

Despite the verdict, the Kenya Kwanza administration has affirmed its intention to appeal the decision, a move seemingly backed by the U.S. government.

In a statement on Tuesday following an Azimio summit meeting in Nairobi, the coalition underscored that domestic and foreign entities that hold reservations about the ruling should respect the autonomy of the Judiciary.

"We take note of the support expressed by the US government for the Ruto regime to appeal the ruling on the deployment of police to Haiti. It is our hope that all parties shall respect the independence of the Judiciary," said Azimio in the joint statement read by Narc-Kenya party leader Martha Karua.

The National Security Council, in October last year, petitioned Parliament to approve the deployment of Kenyan police officers on a UN-backed security mission to war-torn Haiti. The National Assembly  subsequently approved the deployment.

ALSO READ: Haiti govt still hopeful after ruling against Kenya support mission

The approval by Parliament came amid a High Court order temporarily blocking the planned deployment pending the hearing of a petition filed by Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot and two others.

In the petition, Aukot argued that the Constitution does not envisage the deployment of the police service outside Kenya.

He went on to ad that the deployment of police officers or the forces outside Kenya is a matter of great public interest and importance and can only be done in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Kenya had pledged to deploy 1,000 security personnel for the mission seeking to combat a decades-long gang violence characterized by widespread murders, kidnappings and extortion.

The UN Security Council gave the go-ahead in early October for the deployment of a multi-national security support mission, led by Kenya, to help the overwhelmed Haitian police.