An autopsy conducted on the body of the 26-year-old police officer Samuel Kaetuai, who was shot dead in Haiti, revealed he died of a single gun shot wound.
The postmortem examination on the deceased’s body was conducted on Tuesday, March 11, at the Chiromo Funeral Parlour in Nairobi.
According to the pathologist, the police officer succumbed due to the bleeding caused by the gunshot wound which penetrated his head.
Kaetuai’s body was repatriated back to Kenya on Monday evening after a two-week wait, bringing relief to the family members who had long been waiting to identify their kin.
The officer who was killed while serving on a peacekeeping mission in Haiti, arrived in Nairobi where his body was received by a contingent of police officers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli and Kaetuai’s family members were also at the airport, including his wife and father, Salaash Kaetuai.
While the date of his burial is yet to be established, Kaetuai’s body will remain under preservation at the Chiromo mortuary awaiting completion of burial preparations.
Kaetuai was shot dead two weeks ago during a police operation at the Western Artibonite region, 92 kilometres North of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where Kenyan police had been sent to neutralize the Caribbean gangs.
Addressing the press on February 24, the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission Commander Godfrey Otunge disclosed that moments after the shooting, the officer was airlifted to one of the hospitals in Haiti where he succumbed.
In a show of solidarity, last week, the Inspector General of the National Police Service, Douglas Kanja, along with other senior officers, visited Kaetuai's family in Naserian Village, Kajiado County, to offer their condolences.
Meanwhile, the MSS mission, led by Kenyan forces, has been operating in Haiti since June 2024 to assist in controlling violent gangs that have been destabilizing the country.
While the mission has been marred by several challenges including insufficient equipment, Kaetuai marked the first casualty among the Kenyan contingent to die in the mission.
