PORT-AU-PRINCE, March 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A Kenyan police officer deployed in Haiti as part of the international security force has gone missing after an attack by suspected gang members.
The force was attacked by gangs as they were helping a vehicle from the Haitian national police that got stuck in a ditch, the mission said in a statement.
“As the rescue teams attempted to resolve the situation, suspected gang members lying in wait launched an attack,” it added.
Following the attack, specialised teams have been deployed to conduct a search for the missing officer.
The attack happened on Tuesday during a patrol operation in the town of Pont-Sondé, the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission to Haiti said.
Haitian media reported that the officer could have been killed by the gangs but this has not been confirmed.
In a statement, the Kenya National Police Service said it has been notified about the missing officer in Haiti.
It said the officers deployed there remained committed to fulfilling their mandate, despite calls by some Kenyans for the police to return home.
This is not the first attack on Kenyan officers in Haiti.
Last month, a 26-year-old police constable was fatally wounded during an operation in Ségur-Savien, marking the first casualty among the Kenyan contingent.
Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai’s body was flown back and he was laid to rest this month.
Kenya has deployed at least 800 police officers under the MSS mission to Haiti to help combat gangs.
The force was sent to Haiti in June last year to help restore order to the country, where gangs have seized control of almost the entire capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as many rural areas.
More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024 and more than a million people have fled their homes. — NNN-AGENCIES