A Kenyan police officer deployed as part of the international security force in Haiti has been killed during a clash with gang members. The officer, who was part of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission (MSS), is the first casualty suffered by the mission.
The MSS was sent to Haiti in June last year in a bid to help restore order in the country, where gangs have seized control of nearly the entire capital, Port-au-Prince, and large areas of rural regions. In 2024 alone, more than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence, and over a million people have fled their homes.
Gen. Godfrey Otunge, the commander of the multinational force, confirmed that the Kenyan officer was injured in the Artibonite region, which lies to the north of Port-au-Prince. He stated that the officer, whose name has not been released, was immediately airlifted to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries shortly afterward.
Jack Ombaka, the spokesperson for the MSS, expressed sorrow in a statement to Reuters, calling the officer a “fallen hero” who “was killed while fighting for the people of Haiti.” In addition, Kenya’s foreign ministry conveyed its condolences, expressing that it was “heartbroken by the loss” of the officer.
Ombaka further reported that the officer was shot by a gang member during a security operation in the town of Pont-Sondé. He assured that the multinational force would continue its operations, vowing to “pursue these gangs to the last man standing.”
The MSS was reinforced earlier this month with the arrival of 200 additional Kenyan police officers. However, the force remains outgunned and outmanned by the gangs, which continue to smuggle powerful weapons from the United States.
The future of the multinational force was recently thrown into uncertainty after the Trump administration ordered a freeze on foreign aid programs. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later approved a waiver for US funds allocated to the MSS and Haiti’s National Police. However, it remains unclear whether the US government will support transforming the MSS into a UN peacekeeping operation, which would ensure more stable funding for the mission.
