By Martin Siele

NAIROBI - A planned U.N.-backed security mission in Haiti led by Kenya is in jeopardy due to a new legal effort in the East African country to stop the deployment of 1,000 police officers to the Caribbean island.

Haiti has seen an escalation of gang violence in recent days. Multiple criminal organizations in Haiti last week unveiled a new coalition and declared plans to overthrow the government. They led a mass jailbreak that saw thousands of inmates freed. They also launched attacks on the country’s biggest airport, causing a state of emergency to be declared.

The deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti was declared illegal by the High Court in January. Ekuru Aukot, the politician and lawyer who led that case, told Semafor Africa he is working on a fresh challenge against a bilateral agreement signed by Kenyan President William Ruto and Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry last week. He questioned its legality and demanded that it be made public.

“For parties to enter into a bilateral agreement, they must have the capacity to do so,” Aukot argued. “PM Ariel Henry has no capacity. He is unelected and has never been vetted by Haiti’s parliament due to the situation there. International agreements must also be ratified by Kenya’s parliament, and this also hasn’t happened.”

President Ruto said last week Kenya was ‘ready to deploy’ its officers following the signing of the agreement, which was seen as a move to sidestep the court ruling blocking the deployment.

The planned U.N.-backed security mission has faced a series of significant hurdles that make it increasingly look like either a bad plan, or one that is just extremely difficult to implement.

Macollvie Neel, executive editor of the Haitian Times, said the more it dragged out, the more the planned deployment looked unlikely. She argued that the slow response by the international community “allowed these gangs to become so powerful that they can extort governance of the country.”

Observers are increasingly concerned that it might be time for the mission’s backers to consider a change of tack. The U.S. in particular has been rallying support for the mission, and disclosed on Monday that the White House was working to “expedite” the deployment of the Kenya-led force. It refused to send its own troops, a possibility that was reportedly discussed following the latest escalation of gang violence.

The U.S. is providing $200 million to support the mission. Critics of the planned mission, such as Aukot, say it is this financial incentive that has Ruto determined to push the deployment through despite a court ruling blocking it.

“Money is definitely a factor,” he argued. “The U.S. does not represent the Republic of Kenya.”