NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 4 – The Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) alongside family, friends, and colleagues, gathered at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to receive the body of the late Major Paul Njoroge Ndung’u who was killed while serving with the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).
Major Ndung’u was fatally wounded during an ambush by armed militants while on patrol in the Zemio region.
The KDF team was led by the General Officer Commanding Eastern Command, Maj Gen Luka Kutto who described him as a gallant officer who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his nation and to peace.
His body was taken to the Mashujaa Farewell Home as burial arrangements commence. The body arrived on April 3.
“The KDF fraternity, the fallen officer’s family and the nation at large mourn the loss of a dedicated soldier whose unwavering commitment to peace and service will forever be remembered,” a statement said.
A statement from the UN Spokesperson’s office on behalf of António Guterres said the peacekeeper had been killed by so-far unknown assailants when his unit was on a long-range patrol near the village of Tabane in the Haut-Mbomou prefecture, in the southeast of the country.
“The Secretary-General expresses his deepest condolences to the family of the fallen peacekeeper and to the Government and the people of Kenya,” the statement said.
“The Secretary-General recalls that attacks targeting United Nations peacekeepers may constitute war crimes under international law. He calls on the Central African authorities to spare no effort in identifying the perpetrators of this tragedy so that they can be brought to justice swiftly.”
The Central African Republic, or CAR, has been in a state of internal conflict along sectarian lines since 2012 when predominantly Muslim militia began battling mostly Christian anti-Balaka militia, resulting in thousands of deaths and leaving many more dependent on aid.
In 2013, armed groups seized the capital forcing President François Bozizé to flee. After a brief period of reduced violence in 2015, and elections held in 2016, fighting intensified.
Peace talks got underway in early 2019 under the auspices of the African Initiative for Peace and Reconciliation in CAR, led by the African Union (AU) with UN support.
A deal was agreed in Khartoum and formally signed in CAR’s capital, Bangui.
The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Central African Republic and Head of Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), Valentine Rugwabiza, strongly condemned the ambush carried out against a MINUSCA Force patrol near the village of Tabane, 24 km northwest of Zemio, in the Haut-Mbomou prefecture.
“A Kenyan peacekeeper was killed in this extremely violent attack perpetrated by unidentified armed elements,” a statement said.
