The family of a Kenyan police officer who went missing on March 25, 2025, after a deadly gunfight between Kenyan forces and a gang in Haiti has sued the government.
Benedict Kabiru’s family are demanding to know what happened to him and why officials have not given clear information about his fate.
In the petition in which Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi are listed as respondents, the family says that there has been no clarification on what transpired.
The family is torn between believing Haiti’s Transition Presidential Council which said that Mr Kabiru had died and the Kenyan government which maintains that the officer has been missing since the day the Kenyan team engaged the gangs.
A picture of Benedict Kabiru Kuria, a police officer who went missing in Haiti.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
“The Inspector General of Police and the CS for Interior have not clarified the contradiction and continue to deny the family of Benedict Kabiru Kuria a written and truthful position regarding their loved one,” the petition filed by Gathenji and Company Advocates reads.
It further states that the family through the petitioners identified as Jacinta Wanjiku Kabiru (mother to the deceased), Daniel Kabiru Ndung’u (maternal uncle to the deceased) and Philip Kamau Kuria (brother to the deceased) had asked Ranson Lolmodoni, the Director of Operations at the National Police Service (NPS), to clarify whether Kabiru was alive or not.
“His subsequent attempts to get the truth about the status of Benedict Kabiru Kuria have been unsuccessful, as the respondents are dismissive and never give a straight answer,” the petition reveals.
On its legal foundation, the petition states that several laws were breached as per the Kenyan Constitution.
It cites Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) which provides that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their family and that everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
“Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) captures the right to access information and articulates that everyone has the right to seek, receive and impart information,” the petition reads.
According to the petitioners, the respondents have not been transparent about the information regarding the whereabouts of Mr Kabiru or the efforts made so far by the respondents to search for and rescue him.
“Further, there is contradicting information from Haiti about the police officer which claims that he is dead, whereas the respondents have been assertive that the police officer is not dead and that they are searching for him,” the petition states.
Former police officer Jimmy "Barbecue" Cherizier, and leader of an alliance of armed groups, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 11, 2024. (Inset) Slain Kenyan police officer Benedict Kuria Kabiru.
Photo credit: Reuters
They further accuse the respondents of violating Article 35 of the Constitution, which states that every citizen has the right of access to information held by the State and information held by another person and is required for the exercise or protection of any right or fundamental freedom.
The government is accused of failing to disclose information about the whereabouts of Benedict, the ongoing mission to search for and rescue him, and the current status of negotiations between the Kenyan government and the council in Haiti.
“The information being withheld by the respondents is vital and is required for the protection of the rights of Mr Kabiru and his family which include the right to know the fate of the officer,” the petition reveals.
The family wonders why there has never been any written communication from the Administration Police Service where Benedict is employed.
It further questions why the government has never issued any formal statements and continues to engage the family with only verbal assurances that a search and rescue operation is ongoing.
Even with these verbal communications, it is still unclear who is conducting the operation and how it is being carried out.
“There is no formal statement from the Haitian government or authorities, save for a 'social media press statement,’ which has been disputed and/or diluted by the Government of Kenya. Absurdly enough, the only material conversation the Director of Operations and the respondents have had with the family is the arrangement for family counselling and prayer meetings, without giving any reasons for the convocation,” the petition reads.
A picture of Benedict Kabiru Kuria, the Kenyan police officer who went missing in Haiti, is displayed during an interview at his home in Thamande, Kikuyu on March 27, 2025.
Photo credit: Lucy Wanjiru | Nation Media Group
According to the petitioners, the Director of Operations is not engaging them and has “persistently refused to take cell phone calls or return such calls when family members do follow-ups or attend events scheduled by him.”
The family says that the non-disclosure of information is affecting them as they remain anxious about the whereabouts of their kin.
The lack of proper communication, the family says, has created confusion, lack of confidence, disruption of family plans and significant pain and suffering. They add that this anxiety is shared by many Kenyans, especially those who have family members deployed in Haiti.
The family now seeks court orders requiring the government to clearly state whether the officer is dead or alive, disclose his current whereabouts or the location of his remains, award general damages for mental and psychological torture and order that the cost of the petition be borne by the respondents.
