Raila Odinga
The Orange Democratic Party(ODM)has opposed the deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti.
ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna in a statement on Thursday listed six reasons why the party is opposed to the deployment of Kenyan police to Haiti.
Sifuna said the constitution only mandates Kenya’s National Police Service to enforce national security and does not possess an external mandate.
The Nairobi Senator also cited internal security challenges as the other reason why police should not be sent to Haiti.
“The recommended ratio of police officers viz population is one for every 450 citizens. Kenya’s ration is around 1 for every 1,000 citizens. We simply do not have policemen to spare.
“Indeed, given the current security challenges around Sondu, Lamu, the North Rift, along the border with Somalia and within the islands of Lake Victoria, only a truly insensitive and reckless government would deploy 1,000 police officers elsewhere. A poor man’s philanthropy will always raise eyebrows,” said Sifuna.
He added that there is no immediate threat to national security from Haiti as the two nations do not share a border.
Sifuna also noted that previous interventions in Haiti have been conducted by some of the most powerful nations on earth, with disastrous results on each occasion.
“There is therefore no gainsaying the fact that the breakdown of law and order, or the instability in Haiti, are not superficial issues that require mere policing. The root causes go deeper than that,” he remarked.
The ODM SG further said the documented human rights concerns involving Kenyan police officers should not be displayed on the international stage.
Additionally Sifuna said the deployment lacks the requisite parliamentary approval.
“The commitment to send our policemen to Haiti was made long before approval of both the UN and Kenya’s Parliament was sought. In Fact given the current state of capture of Parliament, any pretense at seeking approval would be an afterthought meant to sanitize the process using Ruto’s voting robots in Parliament,” he continued.
The statement comes days after the High Court issued a conservatory order barring the State from deploying police officers to Haiti.
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