First Kenyan police officer dies in Haiti in battle with gangs north of the capital

Jacqueline Charles, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Feb 23, 2025

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The multinational security support mission in Haiti suffered its first casualty Sunday, after a Kenyan police officer died from injuries he sustained during an anti-gang operation north of the capital, the mission said in a statement.

The incident occurred Sunday in the lower Artibonite region in Segur-Savien during one of operations in the town of Pont Sonde.

“The officer was immediately airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries,” the mission said.

Hundreds of Kenyan police are in Haiti, along with a smattering of officers and soldiers from Caribbean countries, as part of the Multinational Security Support mission to help the Haitian police combat violent gangs who have gained control of about 90 percent of the capital.

Jack Ombaka, spokesman for the Kenya-led mission, said the officer “died a hero.”

Over the past week, Kenyan police officers have been conducting continuous security operations in the Lower Artibonite where they were “successfully neutralizing several gangs,” he said.

“In response, the residents of Seguin in Pont-Sonde called for similar action in their area. Answering their plea, our brave Kenyan officers responded without hesitation,” Ombaka said in a statement. “This is the price our courageous officer paid — he was killed while fighting for the people of Haiti.”

After the officer was shot, fellow officers pursued and killed the gang member responsible, Ombaka said.

“We will pursue these gangs to the last man standing. We will not let you down,” he added.

The shooting prompted a quick response from the El Salvador Casualty Evacuation team, which arrived in Port-au-Prince earlier this month with three helicopters to aide the mission in medical evacuation.

They “did everything possible to save our officer’s life,” Ombaka said.

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