An opposition party asks to declare the Kenyan Government in contempt for challenging a ruling that prevents deployment to Haiti

May 17. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The opposition Third Way Alliance party, led by Ekuru Aukot, has submitted a new application to the Kenyan Justice to declare the Government in contempt for failing to comply with a previous ruling that prevents the deployment of the Kenyan police force in order to contain the surge. of criminal violence in Haiti.

The Kenyan opposition party has asked before the Milimani courts that senior government officials be punished with up to six months in prison for defying a ruling issued by the High Court of Kenya last January, as reported this Friday by the newspaper ‘The Star’.

Specifically, the Third Way Alliance argues, among other issues, that Haiti does not currently have a democratically elected government or Parliament capable of ratifying an agreement between Nairobi and Port-au-Prince to activate the deployment.

This comes after the same opposition party filed a petition with Kenya’s High Court to block the deployment. In January, Judge Enock Mwita determined that the National Security Council lacked “any mandate” to activate the mechanism.

Several American teams arrived in Port-au-Prince in early May to prepare the facilities that will house the Kenyan security mission, which is expected to coincide with the visit starting next week of the President of Kenya, William Ruto, to the White House.

Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council took office at the end of April, marking the end of Ariel Henry’s time in power and marking the beginning of a new political era that should conclude with elections in 2026 amid the wave of violence in the country due to gang activity.

In the first quarter of 2024, more than 2,500 people have died or suffered serious injuries in Haiti due to violent incidents linked to armed groups during the first quarter, according to a UN report that warns of the worst spiral of violence in two years.

Port-au-Prince and its metropolitan region continue to be the epicenter of this violence, since eight out of ten victims are concentrated in this area. The UN warns of “extremely violent” clashes between the groups, which seek to expand territorially.