A Kenyan police officer deployed with the multinational security force in Haiti has been killed in a clash with gang members, marking the first fatality for the Kenyan-led mission.
The officer was wounded during a security operation in Pont-Sondé, a town in the Artibonite region north of Port-au-Prince. He was airlifted to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries, according to Gen. Godfrey Otunge, commander of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.
Kenya’s foreign ministry expressed heartbreak over the loss, while MSS spokesman Jack Ombaka described the officer as a “fallen hero” who died fighting for Haiti’s people. Ombaka vowed that the mission would continue its crackdown on gangs, stating, “We will pursue these gangs to the last man standing.”
Haiti has been in turmoil as armed groups extend control over the capital and rural areas. In 2024 alone, over 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence, and more than a million were displaced.
The MSS, which includes officers from Kenya, the Bahamas, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Jamaica, recently reinforced its ranks with 200 additional Kenyan police officers. However, the force remains outgunned by gangs armed with powerful weapons illegally smuggled from the U.S.
The future of the mission remains uncertain following a U.S. foreign aid freeze ordered by the Trump administration. While Secretary of State Marco Rubio later approved a waiver for U.S. funds supporting Haiti’s security, it is unclear whether Washington will back the transformation of the MSS into a UN peacekeeping operation, which would provide more stable funding.
