Kenyan police officers hold a Kenyan flag after disembarking, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti June 25, 2024.
A Kenya-led rescue mission in Haiti to pull out an armoured vehicle that was stuck in a ditch ended with one officer missing.
The armoured vehicle belongs to the Haiti National Police (HNP) and it was on routine patrol on Tuesday when it got stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs on the Carrefour Paye-Savien Main Supply route in Pont-Sonde.
The HNP alerted officers working under the Kenya-led Multi-National Security Support (MSS) Mission, which is being funded by the United Nations (UN), who swiftly responded.
“In response, two MSS Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles from Pont-Sonde were dispatched to assist in the recovery. Unfortunately, one of the MRAPs also got stuck while the other developed a mechanical issue,” Mr James Ombaka, the MSS Spokesperson said in a statement.
The mishap at hand forced the officers who were on the ground, including those who were in the HNP armoured vehicle, to disembark and attempt to resolve the situation.
As this was happening, suspected gang members who were lying in waiting launched an ambush and attacked the officers.
According to Mr Ombaka, one of the MSS Kenyan officers is missing following the ambush.
“Specialised teams have been deployed to conduct a search and determine his whereabouts,” Mr Ombaka said.
Kenya is leading other nations in the Caribbean-based country in a peacekeeping mission that is aimed at restoring calm and wiping out gangs that have caused mayhem in Haiti for years.
The disappearance of the Kenyan officer equally attracted the attention of the National Police Service (NPS) in Nairobi which said that it was closely following up on the matter.
“The MSS in collaboration with the HNP is actively conducting a search and rescue operation to locate the missing officer,” Mr Michael Muchiri, Kenya’s police spokesperson said.
The first contingent of Kenyan officers arrived in Haiti in June 2024 and since then one officer has lost his life while in the line of duty.
Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai was on February 23, shot dead by a suspected gang member who was also killed by officers. He was laid to rest at his Kajiado home on March 19.
Kenya has gone on deploying more police officers to the Caribbean-based nation despite a budget cut that was announced by US President Donald Trump-led government.
The US government froze $13.3 million (Sh1.7 billion) meant for the mission but a few days after the announcement was made Kenya sent an additional 144 officers to Haiti.
The US had initially committed $15 million (Sh1.9 billion) to a trust fund and by the time the announcement to freeze the remainder was made only $1.7 million (Sh219 million) had been used. The remainder is what is frozen.
In December 2024, concerns were raised that gangs were still getting supplies of weapons, raising the question of how they ended up in their hands.
The Kenyan officers in Haiti are drawn from the General Service Unit (GSU), Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU), Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU), and all the Female Special Weapon and Tactics Team (SWATT).
Apart from Kenya, other countries that have sent their officers to the Caribbean-based nation include; Jamaica, Belize, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
Currently, there is a US-led debate on whether the mission should be turned into a UN peacekeeping mission.
However, China and Russia have maintained that they will not vote in support of the move to make it a fully fledged UN mission.
