A Kenyan police officer assigned to Haiti to help combat violent gangs was killed in an altercation with one of the gangs, according to Kenyan officials on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the Artibonite region of western Haiti, where Kenyan police were engaged in operations this past week to dismantle Haitian gangs.
This marks the first fatality since the Kenyan-led security team began its mission in the Caribbean nation in June 2024.
“We salute our fallen hero,” said Jack Ombaka, spokesperson for the mission. “We are determined to pursue these gangs until they are all eliminated. We will not fail you.”
In a statement, the Kenyan mission conveyed that officers acted in response to a request for assistance from residents in Pont-Sonde.
The officer’s death occurred amidst a rise in gang-related violence in the greater Port-au-Prince area over the previous week. After being airlifted from the location, the officer succumbed to his injuries, as reported by Godfrey Otunge, the commander of Kenyan forces in Haiti.
Following the shooting, officers chased after the gang members. Mission representative Ombaka expressed gratitude to hospital personnel and Salvadoran forces, who are also engaged in combat against the gangs, for their assistance after the incident.
This loss is a setback for efforts aimed at controlling Haiti’s gangs, which have violently surged throughout the country since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.
Kenya has deployed hundreds of police officers to support Haiti’s struggling law enforcement.
In February, an additional 200 police officers from the East African nation joined more than 600 Kenyan officers already collaborating with Haiti’s National Police as part of a multinational force that includes military and police contributions from other nations.
