Kenyan troops leave for Haiti on June 25: government and police

President William Ruto enthusiastically supported the mission and announced this month that deployment would begin within weeks.

“The departure will take place on Tuesday this week,” said an Interior Ministry official on condition of anonymity.

“Preparations are underway for the team to leave for Haiti on Tuesday. We already have two advance teams that have left – one last week and another yesterday,” a senior police official said.

A UN Security Council resolution in October last year authorized the mission, but a Kenyan court delayed the deployment in January.

It was said that the Kenyan government had no authority to send police officers abroad without prior consent.

The government secured the deal on March 1, but a small opposition party in Kenya has filed a new lawsuit to block it.

In addition to Kenya, Benin, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados and Chad have also expressed their willingness to participate in the mission.

The global monitoring organization Human Rights Watch has expressed concerns about the mission and doubts about its funding.

Human rights groups accused the Kenyan police of excessive use of force and unlawful killings.

On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by police in Nairobi following youth-led demonstrations against planned tax increases.

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