KAIKAI'S KICKER: Haiti: What about officer Kabiru?

On my Kicker, Kenya’s contentious security mission to Haiti has come to an end, and this week the final contingent of 150 police officers safely landed back home in Nairobi.

The mission to Haiti began in June 2024 when the first batch of Kenyan police officers was deployed to Port-au-Prince under the UN-US-backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission. But the mission was wound up under a cloud of mystery, and Kenyan police officers have been making their way back home, with the last batch landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Now, the mission is over, but not for one family whose kin, a police officer, went missing in Haiti. To this date, the family of police officer Benedict Kabiru Kuria remains in the dark over what really transpired in March last year, when Kabiru allegedly disappeared during an attack by a gang in Haiti.

Government officials have seemingly taken contradicting positions; while the police and interior ministry categorised Kabiru as missing, President William Ruto, in an address at the United Nations, listed Kabiru among the fallen.

“For over a year now, the family of Kabiru has been pursuing answers from the government. But none have been forthcoming,” the report notes.

The family now says it has been forced to petition the courts to compel the government to state whether police officer Kabiru, deployed to Haiti, is dead or alive.

So the mission ends, but the agony continues for the family of Kabiru. The family is, unfortunately, having to seek answers through the courts after what they describe as prolonged silence from authorities.

How unfortunate. Families of all Kenya’s uniformed men and women deserve better than this. Every family of a uniformed officer is a potential Kabiru family anytime the government sends their sons and daughters into harm’s way.

And this is a reminder that command comes with a solemn responsibility. The National Police Service, the Ministry of Interior, and State House are institutions that must step forward and handle the Kabiru family matter in a more responsible, sensitive, and compassionate manner.

Whether missing or, God forbid, dead, police officer Benedict Kabiru Kuria and his family deserve dignified treatment from the government.

It should be found disgraceful and unacceptable that relatives of police officers have to hop from one office to another in search of elusive answers. It should shame the entire chain of command that families have to shed tears in front of cameras because of the wall of silence they are confronted with.

Again, command comes with a solemn responsibility: a responsibility to respect and honour the men and women we put in harm’s way, and a responsibility to handle families of missing or fallen officers with dignity and empathy.

To the National Police Service, the Ministry of Interior, and State House, it is not just about the photo opportunities and brave talk during deployments and airport landings. It is also about individuals like Benedict Kabiru Kuria and his heartbroken family. He is not a mere statistic.