We Shall Seek Parliament’s Nod on Haiti Deployment, CS Kindiki Tells Security Committee

The Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior and National Administration Prof. Kithure Kindiki has assured Members of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security that his ministry will seek approval from Parliament before deploying Police Officers to the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti.

Prof. Kindiki made the undertaking when appearing before the Committee this afternoon to respond to a raft of questions raised by legislators through the Committee. He further informed the Members that Kenya was considering the deployment following a request to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by the Transition National Government of Haiti for the establishment of the Support Mission.

He however told the Committee that the deployment would only be undertaken after the matter is considered by the National Security Council (NSC) and upon adoption, transmitted to Parliament for approval, in line with Article 240 of the Constitution.

“ During the United Nations General Assembly, H.E. President (Dr.) William Ruto expressed Kenya’s interest to participate in the Mission following a request by the UNSC. But even then, the President made it clear that the deployment was subject to the necessary legal approvals and obligations both at the UNSC and in Kenya”, the CS explained.

He was responding to Committee Members who had sought to know why the government had Already made the commitment without following due legal processes including the approval by Parliament.

Article 240 of the Constitution provides that the National Security Council may, with approval of Parliament deploy national forces outside Kenya for regional or international peace support operations.

The UNSC has since authorized deployment of a Multinational Security Support Mission headed by Kenya, in close cooperation with the Government of Haiti for an initial period of 12 months, with a review after nine.

While adopting UNSC Resolution 2699(2023) which recorded a vote of 13 in favour with two abstentions (China and Russia Federation), the Council called on the Mission to establish an oversight mechanism to prevent human rights violations or abuses, and to ensure that the planning and conduct of operations during deployment will be in accordance with applicable international law.

Asked to explain what plans his ministry had put in place ahead of the envisaged deployment, the CS who was accompanied by the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Japhet Koome told the legislators that the ministry was currently reviewing the Report of the Assessment Team that had been dispatched to Haiti for a reconnaissance survey. He told the Committee that a full report and other attendant documents would be dispatched alongside the request by the NSC to Parliament at the right time.

Questioned by MPs on why Kenya was considering sending police officers in place of the military especially now when the county is experiencing many incidents of insecurity, CS Kindiki assured the lawmakers that the country has adequate police officers, noting that the service was now more focused on skills than numbed. He recounted numerous occasions where members of the police service had been deployed as part of UN peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia, Croatia, Kosovo, East Timor, Namibia, South Sudan, Bosnia and Herzegovina among other places, with huge success.

According to the CS, a number of countries including Burundi, Senegal, Cuba, Grenada, Mauritius and Chile are set to join Kenya in the Mission, which requires a contingent of 2,500 external officers to support their Haitian counterparts restore law and order in the Carribean nation.

On his part IG Koome told the legislators that the process of identifying police officers for the deployment would be competitive and transparent. Together with the CS, they vouched for the character and high level competence of a majority of police officers and urged the lawmakers and the public at large to have faith in the police service which he noted had made great strides in reforming.

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