Kenyan High Court Blocks Police Deployment to Haiti Despite Parliamentary Approval

Haiti's escalating gang violence prompts international intervention calls as legal hurdles delay action

Kenya's parliament approved the deployment of 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help combat escalating gang violence, but the Kenyan High Court extended a block on the deployment until a ruling on January 26, 2024.
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has been urgently calling for international intervention for over a year, with the UN approving a multinational mission led by Kenya in October.
Even if the Kenyan police are deployed, the force will consist of just 1,000 Kenyan officers, who would be joined by promised deployments from other countries, bringing the total to 2,500. This is still outnumbered by Haiti's roughly 200 gangs, which have merged into two large coalitions.
Gang violence in Haiti has escalated, with a recent incident where armed men surrounded the Fontaine Hospital Center in Port-au-Prince, trapping scores of people for hours before police managed to evacuate at least 40 children and 70 other patients.
Haiti's gangs have grown more powerful since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, with the number of kidnappings and killings continuing to rise.