Kenya, March 27 -- The Presidential Transitional Council (PTC) of Haiti has announced that a Kenyan police officer named Benedict Kabiru has died. He was killed on Monday, March 24, 2025, during an operation against gangs in a place called Savien.
Officer Kabiru was part of a team called the Multinational Security Support (MSS) that was working with Haitian police. He was shot and died while trying to help.
The Kenyan government is sending special teams to retrieve his body since it is currently held by the gangs in Haiti.
The President of Haiti, Fritz Alphonse Jean, has promised to find and punish those responsible for Kabiru's death.
Kabiru is not the first Kenyan officer to die in Haiti. Just a month earlier, another officer named Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai was also killed in a similar operation on February 23, 2025.
There are growing concerns about the safety of Kenyan officers in Haiti, where gang violence has increased significantly.
Police units often face challenges in their operations, raising fears that more officers might be in danger.
The latest incident happened when three armored vehicles carrying peacekeepers got stuck in a ditch, which is believed to have been intentionally dug by gang members.
As the officers tried to get the vehicles out, they were ambushed, resulting in Officer Kabiru's death.
The MSS mission, led by Kenya, was created to help restore peace in Haiti because of the rising gang violence.
However, with more officers being injured and killed, there is increasing pressure on the Kenyan government to address the safety and effectiveness of this mission.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.