In a significant setback for President William Ruto, the High Court of Nairobi has declared the deployment of National Police Services (NPS) officers to Haiti as unconstitutional.
High Court Judge Chacha Mwita issued the ruling on Friday, emphasizing that both the National Security Council and NPS lack the authority to deploy police officers outside Kenya. The decision came in response to an application by Thirdway Alliance Party leader Ekuru Aukot, who sought to block the deployment on grounds of illegality.
"To be clear, Article 240 does not mandate the Council to deploy police officers outside Kenya. Deployment should be as provided for in part 14 of the Act and only to a reciprocating country," ruled Judge Mwita.
He highlighted the absence of a reciprocal arrangement between Kenya and Haiti, stating, "It is not contested that there is no reciprocal arrangement between Kenya and Haiti, and for that reason, there can be no deployment of police to that country."
While acknowledging Kenya's noble offer to assist in mitigating a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, the judge emphasized the need for such deployments to adhere to the Constitution of Kenya.
"An order is hereby issued prohibiting the deployment of police officers to Haiti or any other country otherwise than any compliance with part 14 of NPS Act," he stated.
Ekuru Aukot filed the petition after Parliament approved the deployment of 1,000 officers to the Caribbean nation, where Kenya intended to lead a peacekeeping mission due to an upsurge in gang violence.
President William Ruto, a key proponent of the deployment, argued that it was driven by Kenya's obligations to the international community. The move received support from the international community, including a Ksh14 billion contribution from the United States and other logistic support.
The United Nations Security Council had also approved the police deployment in October 2023. Following the court ruling, it remains uncertain whether the government will appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal, and as of now, President Ruto has not provided a response.