Kenya, Haiti sign ‘reciprocal’ agreement on police deployment: Ruto

The agreement would allow Kenyan police to lead a UN-backed mission in the gang-riven Caribbean nation.

Kenya and Haiti have signed a “reciprocal” agreement to deploy police from the East African country to lead a United Nations-backed law and order mission in the gang-riven Caribbean nation, Kenyan President William Ruto has said.

Ruto said on Friday that he and Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry had “discussed the next steps to enable the fast-tracking of the deployment”, but it was not immediately clear whether the agreement would counter a court ruling in January that branded the deployment “unconstitutional”.

The deal was signed as the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince was racked by deadly gang-related violence, forcing businesses and schools to close and flight cancellations.

Kenya had previously said that it was ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel, an offer welcomed by the United States and other nations that had ruled out putting their own forces on the ground.

But a Nairobi court said the decision was unconstitutional, in part because the two countries had not signed a reciprocal agreement on the issue.