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Kenya Cabinet approved sending police to lead peace mission in Haiti but parliament must sign off

By EVELYNE MUSAMBIOctober 13, 2023 GMT

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Kenya Cabinet Secretary for defence Aden Duale speaks during the joint press conference after a signing defence cooperation agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday Sept. 25, 2023. The U.S. and Kenya signed a defense agreement Monday that will see the East African nation get resources and support for security deployments as it is poised to lead a multi-national peacekeeping mission to Haiti to combat gang violence. (AP Photo/Khalil Senosi)

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — 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’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.

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.”