Confusion as family of Kenyan police officer missing in Haiti maintains he’s alive despite death reports

Confusion surrounds the fate of a Kenyan police officer who went missing after being ambushed by suspected gang members in the Pont-Sande area of Haiti on Tuesday.

The family of Benedict Kabiru has dismissed reports of his death, insisting he is still alive despite being missing for two days in the insecure Caribbean nation.

A statement from the Haiti Transitional Presidential Council has suggested that the officer who had gone missing could be dead.

Anxiety has gripped not just Kabiru's family, but also his friends, who continue to visit the officer’s home in Thamanda Village, Kikuyu, Kiambu County, holding onto hope that good news will soon break the silence.

“Many police officers came to our residence yesterday. I asked them whether my husband was dead but they insisted he had just gone missing,” said Miriam Watimu, Kabiru’s wife.

“I got the news from the Kikuyu Sub-County AP Commander who told me that my son had gone on a mission and went missing,” said Jecinta Wanjiku, Kabiru’s mother.

The family says Kabiru, an officer attached to the Border Patrol Unit, communicated with them last weekend, informing them about his night duty patrol this week.

Despite being part of a Multinational Security Operation team, Kabiru made sure his family back home remained comfortable as he battled the gangs in Haiti.

“The last time I spoke to my son on Saturday. He told me that he would come and settle me because I live in rentals. We had agreed on that, and yesterday is when I heard that he is missing,” said Wanjiku.

“I had told him the woofer at home wasn't working well, but it turns out he had ordered one online and wanted to surprise me. The woofer arrived we were supposed to talk yesterday so I could tell him how it was, but instead, we were told he is missing,” added Watimu.

The 34-year-old father of one had embraced the Haiti mission when he was chosen by his seniors.

Having been attached to the Border Patrol Unit since he joined the police service in 2016, he added value to the mission as a driver, mechanic and bomb disposal expert.

A statement from the Multinational Security Support Mission stated that Kabiru disappeared while in the company of other Kenyan police officers who had responded to a distress call from Haiti police officers, whose vehicle had gotten stuck in the Pont-Sande area before they were ambushed by suspected gang members.

What is raising concerns, despite the family's position that the only information they have is that he is missing, is a statement from the Haiti Presidential Transitional Council posted on its X platform, which makes reference to an officer who passed away during an insecurity incident.