President William Ruto says that Kenya will push ahead with plans to lead a U.N.-approved security mission to Haiti despite a court in Nairobi blocking the deployment last week.
The Haiti security mission is aimed at tackling rampant gang violence in the Caribbean nation, which killed nearly 5,000 people last year, and is due to be initially financed by the United States.
However, the High Court ruled that it would be unconstitutional to deploy officers abroad unless there was a "reciprocal arrangement" in place with the host government.
Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, Ruto said Haiti had asked for help months ago and expected a request to satisfy the court's demands shortly.
"So that mission can go ahead as soon as next week if all the paperwork is done between Kenya and Haiti on the bilateral route that has been suggested by the court," Ruto said following an Italian-Africa summit in Rome.
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Asked if discussions were underway with Haiti to get the necessary request, Ruto said: "Absolutely. Haiti have actually written formally, not today, several months ago."
Haiti first sought help in 2022 as gang violence surged but was unable to find anyone willing to take charge, with many foreign governments wary of supporting the impoverished country's unelected administration.
