‘Ruto’s agreement to send police to Haiti invalid’ – Third Way Alliance’s Aukot states in letter to Biden, UN boss
Third Way Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot has said the security mission deployed to Haiti by Kenya is invalid.
Kenya and Haiti, with the support of the United Nations and the United States, entered into an agreement that will see the East African nation send up 1,000 police officers for a security mission in the Caribbean nation.
However, the process has faced hurdles both legal and political in the country, although President William Ruto's government is determined to honours its side of the bargain and deploy security officials.
In a letter addressed to United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres and US President Joe Biden, Aukot, in conjunction with the former Member of Parliament Kabando wa Kabando, said the deployment is invalid as it violates the constitution.
"The Constitution, further in Article 240 thereof, delineates the functions and mandates of our national security. More specifically, the Constitution distinguishes the national police service from the Kenya Defense Forces (the military).
"The Constitution, being the supreme law of our land, restricts the use of the National Police Service within the jurisdiction of Kenya," Aukot argued.
Aukot further added that there are countries with enough and better capacity to handle the Haiti insecurity issue and that Kenya cannot.
"Popular opinion holds that there are better-suited countries to manage the mission. The UNSC should call upon other UN members that are geographically and linguistically close to offer the proposed service.
"The logistics of the matter involving Kenya raise questions about the purported benefits of the mission. Furthermore, it is foolhardy for the UN to prefer a country that has not met its own set guidelines to go to Haiti. The whole mission in this state is laughable," the letter added. 
Internal chaos
Aukot wants the police to be used to handle internal matters affecting the country, as that is the priority as compared to the Haiti mission.
"To that extent, and even comparing the capacity of Kenya and the USA to intervene in such missions, Kenya has too many domestic problems to engage in such a mission. Furthermore, as patriots, we detest the idea of our country being used as a pawn by the imperialists and globalists that the USA currently represents.
"Kenya has its own security challenges. For example, regions such as Baringo, Lamu, and Baragoi, the entire northern Kenya, and the coastal regions as well as the urban areas are all experiencing internal strife and insecurity," the letter continued to state.
Aukot and his associate also said the Kenya Police is inadequately trained to oversee the Haiti-type mission.
"The unfamiliar environment provides its own unique challenges. The NPS is not battle-tested to manage conflict resolution with civilians/militia with access to firearms. Additionally. Kenyan personnel will encounter language and cultural challenges.
"Of key importance in any mission is intelligence collection and language familiarity, which form a sizable portion of the process. Cultural differences will also dissuade interactions between the NPS and the locals, who already express bias towards foreign intervention," it further stated.
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