There was a somber mood at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) when the body a police officer who was killed by a gang in Haiti arrived there.
The body arrived on March 10 and was received by senior police officers led by the Deputy Inspector General of the Administration Police Service, Gilbert Masengeli.
Constable Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai was killed on February 23 in a clash with a gang in Port-au-Prince. The body had delayed in Haiti for weeks over logistical issues, officials said.
It had to be flown to the Dominican Republic then to USA and later to Kenya.
It was later moved to the Chiromo Mortuary pending burial.
Kaetuai was among a team that was pursuing a gang when he was shot in the head and died.
The Multinational Security Support Mission said he succumbed to injuries sustained during an operation.
Kenya has deployed at least 800 police officers under MSS mission to Haiti to help in combating gangs.
Inspector General of the National Police Service Douglas Kanja had last week led senior officers in visiting and condoling with the family and friends of Kaetuai.
The officers visited the family at Naserian Village, Kajiado East Sub-County, Kajiado County, as they mourned his demise.
Kanja eulogised Tompoi as a hero and ambassador who lost his life in the line of duty while defending global peace.
He acknowledged that the officer was well-trained for the mission and that his death is a great loss to the National Police Service.
He assured that the well-being of the officers deployed for the mission in Haiti remains a top priority of the Kenyan government, and there is constant communication with the team to ensure they receive the necessary support.
The IG was accompanied by DIG-KPS Eliud Lagat, DIG-APS Gilbert Masengeli, and other senior officers.
Haiti has been grappling with escalating gang violence, with the United Nations reporting that at least 5,601 people were killed in gang-related incidents last year—1,000 more than in 2023.
The UN also documented 315 lynchings of alleged gang members and 281 suspected summary executions by police. This violence has displaced over a million Haitians, according to the UN’s migration agency.
Gang control in Port-au-Prince has led to an almost complete breakdown of law and order, the collapse of health services and emergence of a food security crisis.
More than 5,500 people were killed in gang-related violence in the Caribbean nation in 2024 and more than a million people have fled their homes.
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