The family of Benedict Kabiru, the police officer killed in Haiti while on a security operation, is planning to conduct a mock burial after losing hope that his body will ever be found.
This comes as Kenya is withdrawing her officers from the Caribbean country where their mandate officially ends on March 31, 2026.
Kabiru was part of the 800 contingent deployed in Haiti under the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to restore order following infestation of criminal gangs. Although top police commanders have exuded confidence that the mission was a big success, Kabiru’s death and missing body underscore how the operation was a daunting task for the boots on the ground.
From the onset, the operation faced logistical and funding challenges to the detriment of the officers, some of whom are already back home after the 18-month tour of duty in Haiti, which was destabilised by notorious gangs led by Jimmy Chérizier, alias Barbecue.
Kabiru paid the ultimate price in the mission, which also claimed the lives of Corporal Kennedy Mutuku Nzuve and Constable Samuel Kaetuwai. The bodies of Mutuku and Kaetuwai were repatriated and buried.
That has not been the case for Kabiru, whose family is left in more pain at the turn of events, seeing his colleagues return home alive.
The first batch of officers returned back home on December 9, 2025, with the second group of 215, accompanied by Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, landing on March 17, 2026 at Old Airport in Embakasi.
Kabiru went missing on March 25, 2025 after armed gangs attacked a police convoy along the Carrefour Paye-Savien supply route in Artibonite region. Initially, the officer had been classified as missing before the Kenyan government declared the 34-year-old dead.
“When his colleagues landed back home, we were disappointed there was no mention of him, nor has the government had the courtesy of giving us the latest update,” said the officer’s uncle Daniel Kabiru.
According to Daniel, after being informed last year that a board had been constituted to inquire into his nephew’s death, the family has been kept in the dark over progress made so far.
The absence of Kabiru’s body has put the National Police Service (NPS) in an awkward situation. The only respite is that he is missing, and can only be declared dead after seven years, which is a legal process on presumption of death.
IG Kanja described the mission as a big success whose learnt lessons will be incorporated into the training curriculum.
