Kenya's parliament has approved the sending of 1,000 police officers to Haiti to help quell gang violence despite a court order that has barred the deployment pending the hearing of a case.

MPs supporting the motion said the country was part of the global community and could not ignore when other countries were in need.

They also argued that Kenya has a history of peacekeeping missions such as in Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

Those opposed said the country is facing its own security challenges and cannot afford to spare any of its officers.

The approval was passed in a voice vote moments before the start of a High Court session which was hearing a case challenging the mission. The court had earlier blocked the deployment saying the petitioners had raised issues of national importance.

Charles Midega, the lawyer of one of the main petitioners, told the BBC that it was a brazen act by parliament to discuss the deployment despite an order in place.

He added that he would raise it with the judge.

Kenya’s interior minister had said earlier that the deployment will only happen within the legal framework.

The country had pledged to send its officers to the Caribbean nation after its Prime Minister Ariel Henry called for international help. The country has experienced months of unrest from gang violence.