A Kenyan police officer serving in the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) in Haiti has passed on.
In a statement shared by the MSSM on Monday, February 24, 2025, the said officer from the Kenyan contingent suffered injuries during an operation in SÉGUR – SAVIEN, in the Artibonite department.
The officer whose identity was not immediately revealed was airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital in the same region. However, efforts to save him proved futile as the officer succumbed to the injuries, MSS Force Commander Godfrey Otunge announced.
In the statement, the force commander did not give details on what specifically transpired during the operation.
“Today, Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, one of our MSS officers from the Kenyan contingent was injured during an operation in SÉGUR – SAVIEN, in the Artibonite department. The officer was immediately airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries,” the statement read.
The Haiti mission
The latest casualty is a setback to Kenya which was picked to lead the mission to restore peace in Haiti.
To achieve the goal, Kenya kept its promise by deploying officers to work alongside other nations to help bring calm to the Carribean nation.
Earlier in February 2025, the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen flagged off 144 officers who were then greeted at the international airport in Port-au-Prince by interim Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime and Leslie Voltaire, head of Haiti’s presidential transition council.
In December 2024 Nairobi sent 400 officers and over 200 In January 2025, with the latest reinforcements bringing the total to around 1,000.
In 2024, at least 5,601 people were killed in gang-related violence, a thousand more than in 2023, according to the United Nations (UN).
The UN also recorded 315 lynchings of people allegedly affiliated with gangs as well as 281 cases of alleged summary executions by police.
Gang violence has forced many Haitians to flee their homes, with the UN’s migration agency putting the figure of displaced people around the country at over a million.
Despite the setback, Kenya is expected to continue pushing to recapture cities dominated by gangs. Recently, they called for more support from contributing nations to help them achieve their objective.
Today, Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, one of our MSS officers from the Kenyan contingent was injured during an operation in SÉGUR – SAVIEN, in the Artibonite department. The officer was immediately airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries. pic.twitter.com/5Hb9cftTb2
— Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti (@MSSMHaiti) February 24, 2025
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