Haitian authorities identify Kenyan policeman killed by gang as Benedict Kabiru

The Presidential Transitional Council (PTC) of Haiti identified the Kenyan police officer who was killed by the Caribbean gang as Benedict Kabiru Kuria.

The Haitian government disclosed that Kabiru was shot dead on, March 25, 2025, in Savien, while carrying out an anti-gang operation.

According to the transitional council, the officer, who was part of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission in Haiti, was killed during the operation carried out jointly with the Haitian forces.

Haiti’s President, Fritz Alphonse Jean, termed Kabiru a valiant police officer who made the ultimate sacrifice for a better future for the Caribbean country.

“The Presidential Transitional Council (PTC) extends its deepest condolences to the government and people of Kenya, as well as to the family of Bénédict Kabiru, who fell on March 25 2025, in Savien while carrying out his mission,” read part of the statement by the PTC.

“This valiant police officer, engaged alongside Haitian forces in the fight against insecurity, made the ultimate sacrifice for a better future for our country. His bravery and commitment will never be forgotten.”

He vowed to pursue the armed criminals who shot Kabiru dead, further promising to hold them accountable for their actions before the courts.

After the attack, videos were shared online purporting to show the officer’s body lying on the ground.

Kenyan authorities have since deployed specialized teams to recover his body, which remains in the custody of the gangs.

He comes from Kikuyu, Kiambu County.

Kabiru is the latest Kenyan officer to die in Haiti, where questions continue to grow over the mission’s risks and the safety of the deployed officers.

His death comes just a month after another Kenyan officer, Police Constable Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai, was fatally shot during an anti-gang operation in the Artibonite region on February 23, 2025.

With gangs in Haiti growing more aggressive and police units facing logistical challenges, concerns are emerging over how many more Kenyan officers may have already been killed or could soon lose their lives in the volatile operation.

The latest attack occurred when three armoured vehicles carrying peacekeepers got stuck in a ditch, suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs.

As officers attempted to recover the vehicles, they were ambushed, leading to Kabiru’s fatal shooting.

The MSS mission, led by Kenya, was launched to support Haitian authorities in restoring order amid escalating gang violence.

However, with the increasing number of casualties and operational difficulties, pressure is mounting on Kenyan authorities to address growing concerns over the safety and effectiveness of the deployment.

The incident came as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a tour of the Caribbean with Haiti’s security crisis high on the agenda.

The US has been a key financial supporter of MSS, and the security crisis in Haiti is a focus of Secretary Rubio’s visit to the Caribbean this week.

On Wednesday, Rubio met Jean in Jamaica. The Haitian government said the meeting was meant to strengthen regional cooperation related to its challenges.

Over 80% of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince has been estimated to be under gang control.

Since the MSS arrived, gangs have spread increasingly into rural areas, seizing swathes of territory in the agriculturally critical Artibonite region.

In October, the United Nations said least 70 people, including women and children, were massacred by the Gran Grif gang in the same Artibonite town where the officer was killed on Tuesday.

Violence in Port-au-Prince has led to record levels of displacement, exacerbating humanitarian conditions, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Nearly 23,000 people were displaced in just one week in March, he said.

The crisis has also cut into vital supply lines across the country. “Beyond the worrying situation in the capital, almost half of the entire population – that’s 5.5 million human beings – is going hungry, one of the highest proportions in any crisis around the world,” Dujarric said.