Two Kenyan police officers were seriously injured in battles with Haitian street gangs this week, while an officer who went missing last week has reportedly been killed – the second fatality in Kenya’s peacekeeping deployment to gang-ravaged Haiti.
Kenya dispatched police officers to Haiti in June as part of the U.N.-authorized Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. The MSS has about a thousand personnel on the ground in Haiti, 75 percent of them from Kenya.
The Kenyan detail suffered its first fatality in February, when a 26-year-old constable named Samuel Kitwai was shot and killed by gang members during a security operation in the town of Pont-Sonde. The MSS hailed Kitwai as a “fallen hero.”
The second fatality also occurred in Pont-Sonde, when gang members ambushed two MSS armored vehicles. One of the mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles became stuck in a ditch, while the other suffered a mechanical failure during recovery operations. MSS officials suspect the ditch was dug by the gangs to set up an ambush.
MSS representatives initially said one officer was missing after the ambush, but videos of a dead body began circulating on social media, and the Haitian transitional government confirmed the officer was dead.
The slain officer was identified as Corporal Benedict Kuria Kabiru, an experienced Kenyan policeman who was four months away from completing his deployment to Haiti and returning home. Kabiru left behind a wife and son in Kenya.
“This valiant police officer, engaged alongside Haitian forces to fight insecurity, made the ultimate sacrifice for a better future for our country. His bravery and commitment will never be forgotten,” the Haitian Presidential Transition Council said.
Pont-Sonde is located in the Artibonite region, the breadbasket province of Haiti. The gangs which swarmed the capital of Port-au-Prince after the assassination of President Jovenal Moise in July 2021 soon moved into the farmland of Artibonite, grabbing territory for themselves and interfering with humanitarian operations to consolidate their control over Haiti.
Three Kenyan police officers told Reuters on Tuesday that two of their colleagues were seriously injured in battles with gangs while patrolling the streets of Port-au-Prince this week. The MSS confirmed both officers were sent to the Dominican Republic to receive medical treatment.
According to Reuters’ sources, one of the officers was “shot in the head after a bullet pierced his helmet,” while the other was “hit in the ear when a gunshot penetrated the walls of an armored vehicle.”
“Twenty armored vehicles have been grounded since this weekend after officers refused to use them, complaining that this was the second time a vehicle had failed to stop a bullet,” the police sources said.
Two officials from the MSS told Reuters they plan to send a delegation to Washington this week to “present concerns over the quality of protective gear,” which has mostly been provided by the United States. Few other countries have been willing to make substantial contributions to the police operation in Haiti.
The U.S. pledged a total of $300 million in funding for Haiti, including $43 million in funding for Haitian police and MSS forces, plus $6 million for firearms, protective gear, and other equipment.
The Trump administration announced a 90-day freeze on foreign aid spending in February, including $13.3 million in unspent Haiti funding that was held in a trust fund.
The MSS mission does not appear to have substantially reduced the amount of territory controlled by gang lords in Haiti. The gangs control about 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, and they have an increasingly heavy presence in rural communities.
On Monday, a horde of heavily-armed gang members stormed the central Haitian town of Mirebalais, firing on buildings and bystanders, setting cars on fire, and attacking the local police station.
The gang operation – reportedly a joint operation between the infamous 400 Mawozo gang and a coalition that refers to itself as “Taliban” – succeeded in penetrating the local jail and releasing some 500 prisoners. The gangs were also able to take control of some important local roads.
