In the wake of the gruesome killing of a Kenyan officer, Benedict Kabiru, in Haiti, the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission officers are planning to deploy a new strategy to combat the dreaded Caribbean gangs.
The Kenya-led MSS mission Spokesperson, Jack Ombaka, in an interview with Haiti’s media outlet, Le Nouvelliste, on Wednesday, April 16, said the new strategy would involve ambushes on specific gang leaders.
He noted that over the past week, the Kenyan officers carried out decisive operations aimed at dismantling the gangs, adding that the impromptu operations immensely reduced gang violence in the war-torn country.
"We are in a phase of decisive operations. As a strategy, we talk less and act more. We have carried out several targeted operations over the past week,” Ombaka told the Caribbean newspaper.
“That is why you no longer see gang leaders coming out openly, as was the case before. We are determined to capture at least three gang leaders dead or alive," he added.
During the interview, Ombaka disclosed that recently, a notorious gang leader, commonly known as Izo, narrowly escaped during an operation carried out by the MSS mission peacekeepers.
According to him, actions speak louder than words in such decisive operations, further adding that the police officers would not relent until the gangs surrendered.
“The same thing is happening in the Artibonite, and it is the gang leader we are targeting. Over the past week, the gangs have suffered heavy losses, the number of which we cannot yet reveal,” Ombaka revealed.
His sentiments come on the back of the death of Benedict Kabiru, a Kenyan officer who was part of the MSS peacekeeping mission. Kabiru was reportedly shot dead on Monday, March 24, 2025, in Savien state while carrying out an anti-gang operation.
However, despite being killed, the gang members took away his body, forcing the mission bosses to deploy specialised teams to search and find the police officer whose body is still believed to be in the custody of the gangs.
Meanwhile, since Kabiru's death, concerns have been raised over the reluctance of the Kenyan peacekeepers to combat the escalating gang violence in Haiti.
According to reports, the Haitian towns of Mirebalais and Saut-d'Eau are currently in the hands of criminals, but the Kenyan officers are nowhere to be seen.
