A Kenyan police officer who died in a road accident while serving on the Multi-National Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti has been identified as Corporal Kennedy Mutuku Nzuve.
He was killed alongside two civilians in a crash involving two armoured vehicles on the Kenscoff–Pétion-Ville road at Perlerin 9 in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, on Sunday, August 31.
Corporal Nzuve was a member of Kenya’s third contingent to the MSS.
“The incident occurred during a recovery operation involving two MaxxPro vehicles. While one vehicle was towing the other, it developed mechanical problems leading to the incident,” a statement by MSS said.
Due to the lack of adequate medical facilities in Haiti, injured officers have to be evacuated to the Dominican Republic for specialised treatment.
“The three critically injured officers have since been earmarked for medical evacuation to the Dominican Republic for specialised treatment. The rest are receiving further care at the Aspen Level 2 Hospital at the LSA 2,” said MSS spokesperson Jack Ombaka.
The eight injured officers were initially rushed to Lambert Santé Hospital in Haiti, where doctors advised that they be moved to the Dominican Republic.
Mr Mutuku was born on March 8, 1984, in Machakos County and joined the National Police Service in 2005 and later served with the Rapid Deployment Unit (RDU).
Over the years, he served with distinction in various parts of Kenya, including Narok and Baringo counties, before taking up his final mission in Haiti.
“On Monday, 1 September 2025, the MSS family—including personnel from Kenya, the Bahamas, Jamaica, El Salvador, Guatemala alongside staff from DMG, Amentum, Aspen, and GardaWorld—gathered at the main dining facility (Defac) at LSA1 to honor his memory in a solemn service before his remains were flown to the Dominican Republic for preservation and onward repatriation to Kenya,” MSS said.
Corporal Mutuku’s death adds to the number of Kenyan officers who have died since the first team was deployed to the Caribbean nation in June 2024.
In February, Constable Samuel Tompoi Kaetuwai died from a gunshot wound sustained during an anti-gang operation.
The following month, Benedict Kabiru Kuria, another Kenyan officer, was ambushed and killed by a gang in the Artibonite region.
Meanwhile, a Haitian group known as the Movement of the Unforgettable Dessalines Jean-Jacques (MUDJJ) has urged the international community to alter its approach to the crisis in Haiti.
In a statement seen by the Nation, MUDJJ gave nine members of the Presidential Transitional Council (CTP) 72 hours to resign.
Those named include Smith Augustin, Louis Gérald Gilles, Fritz Alphonse Jean, Edgard Leblanc Fils, Laurent Saint-Cyr, Emmanuel Vertilair and Leslie Voltaire, as well as observers Régine Abraham of the Rally for a National Agreement and Frinel Joseph of the religious sector.
“We give the CPT 72 hours to resign and hand power over to the people. We ask that you sever ties with this illegitimate government effective immediately,” the group said.
MUDJJ further demanded that assets belonging to politicians and party members be frozen, and that arrest warrants be issued against the nine CPT members.
These developments come as the United States and Panama propose the formation of a new mission, the Gang Suppression Force (GSF), to replace the Kenyan-led MSS.
The GSF would be tasked with dismantling criminal gangs that have been destabilising Haiti. According to the proposal presented to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Organisation of American States (OAS) last week, the new entity would comprise more than 5,500 officers drawn from various countries.
The force would focus on tackling gangs that are increasingly working together under the coalition Viv Ansanm, led by the notorious Jimmy Cherizier, alias Barbecue.
Although the MSS mandate ends in early October, it remains unclear how the proposed GSF would differ from the current mission, given that both have the same stated objective of fighting gangs in Haiti.
Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the UN Security Council that Kenya has played a critical role in the peacekeeping mission it has led since June 2024.
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