Benedict Kabiru, the officer who went missing during a Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) in Haiti in March 2025, is dead, police have confirmed.
In a statement released on Thursday, September 25, police announced that they had received information about Kabiru's passing, six months after he went missing.
"The officer had been reported missing while on duty the previous day, on March 25, following an ambush on the Carrefour Paye-Savien main supply route in the Pont-Sonde area of the Artibonite Department," a statement from the NPS read.
"In a tragic turn of events, the National Police Service (NPS) received information regarding the death of the missing police officer, and the family has been notified."
The NPS, in their statement, reiterated that before information of Kabiru's demise, they were in constant communication with Kabiru's family in the wake of the March attack, as they sought to determine his whereabouts.
Kabiru was in the company of other officers when their armed vehicle was ambushed by gangs after it got stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by the gangs.
It was during the recovery of the vehicle that Kabiru and his colleagues were attacked. However, while the others managed to escape with injuries, the gang took away Kabiru.
The NPS's statement brought an end to months of confusion and uncertainty over Kabiru's fate, which culminated in a contradicting version of events earlier this week between President William Ruto and the Attorney General.
Ruto, while speaking at a United Nations Council meeting, mentioned Kabiru as one of three officers who lost their lives while on the Haiti mission. However, during a court session, the Attorney General's office claimed they had not received any information confirming the officer's death.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen corroborated Ruto's figure on Thursday, September 25, confirming Kabiru was the third Kenyan casualty in Haiti.
"Mr Kabiru lost his life in unfortunate circumstances which were not directly related to the initial shooting. The family has been informed," Murkomen said during a Jukwaa la Usalama meeting in Garissa Town.
The government's clarification on Kabiru's fate came just after the late officer's family moved to court to file a petition seeking the state's clarity on his death.
