KARATINA, Kenya, Apr 2 – Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has assured the family of the police officer who went missing during an operation in Haiti that every effort is being made to ensure he is found.
Speaking during an impromptu visit to Karatina Police Station, Kanja said it was operationally premature to declare the police officer dead.
“The search is still on for the unaccounted officer, and all efforts are being made to ensure we find him. I want to assure the family of the missing officer that we are doing everything possible, and we are going to bring him back,” the Inspector General of Police said.
The Police Chief, however, was not willing to comment on how many officers have been injured in the operation, which has led opposition leaders to demand a recall of officers deployed under the UN-funded mission.
“In all kinds of operations, even those undertaken here at home, if an officer gets hurt in the line of duty, that officer is taken to the hospital and treated,” he explained.
The Inspector General of Police emphasized that the Haiti mission is very important to the Service’s mandate to provide peace and security.
He noted that the deployment of the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support has led to the resumption of learning in schools and operations at the national airport in Port-au-Prince, which had been overrun by armed gangs.
Kanja’s statement comes a week after Haiti’s Presidential Transitional Council confirmed the death of the unaccounted officer.
Around 800 Kenyan police officers have been deployed to the Caribbean country since June.
In a statement, the CPT extended its deepest condolences to the government and people of Kenya, as well as to the family of Benedict Kabiru, who lost his life on March 25.
“The Presidential Transitional Council deplores the death of the Kenyan officer in Savien. These valiant police officers, 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,” the statement read.
Amateur footage, seemingly recorded on a mobile phone, shows the officer motionless on the ground as one of the assailants slaps him. It remains unclear whether the officer was alive or dead at that point.
The MSS confirmed that the officer went missing following an ambush by suspected gang members.
According to MSS Spokesperson Jack Ombaka, the officer disappeared on March 25 at around 16:30 hrs when a routine patrol by the Haitian National Police (HNP) encountered difficulties along the Carrefour Paye-Savien Main Supply Route.
