- A Kenyan police officer went missing after a gang attack in Haiti
- Teams are searching for the officer, with reports of a possible death
- Gangs have caused over 5,500 deaths and 1 million displacements in 2024
A Kenyan police officer deployed in Haiti as part of the international security force has gone missing following an attack by suspected gang members. The attack occurred as the Kenyan officers were assisting a vehicle from the Haitian national police that had become stuck in a ditch. The Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission to Haiti reported that as the rescue teams worked to resolve the situation, gang members ambushed them.
The attack took place on Tuesday during a patrol operation in the town of Pont-Sondé. Specialized teams have been deployed to search for the missing officer, although local media outlets in Haiti have suggested that the officer may have been killed by the gangs. However, this has not been officially confirmed.
This incident is the latest in a series of attacks on Kenyan officers stationed in Haiti. Last month, 26-year-old police constable Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai was fatally wounded in an operation in the town of Ségur-Savien, becoming the first casualty among the Kenyan contingent. His body was flown back to Kenya for burial earlier this month.
Kenya has deployed around 800 police officers as part of the MSS mission to Haiti, a mission that was initiated in June 2024 to assist in restoring order in a country where gangs have taken control of large areas, including most of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Gang-related violence in Haiti has surged, with more than 5,500 people killed in 2024 alone, and over a million people forced to flee their homes.
