The fatal incident occurred in the western Artibonite region, where Kenyan forces were conducting an operation to neutralise gang activity. According to the Kenyan mission, officers responded to distress calls from residents in an area known as Pont-Sonde when the officer was shot.

Godfrey Otunge, the commander of the Kenyan forces in Haiti, stated that the officer was airlifted for medical treatment but later succumbed to his injuries.

"Today, Sunday, February 23rd, 2025, one of our MSS officers from the Kenyan contingent was injured during an operation in Segur Savien, in the Artibonite department. The officer was immediately airlifted to Aspen Level 2 Hospital but, unfortunately, succumbed to the injuries," Otunge said in an official statement.

Kenya has so far deployed nearly 800 police officers under the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, a UN-backed initiative aimed at restoring order in Haiti amid escalating violence.

The first contingent of 400 officers arrived in June last year, followed by 217 more in January and an additional 144 in February this year.

The mission was authorised by the United Nations Security Council in October 2023, with the goal of assisting Haiti’s government in re-establishing security in the gang-ridden country.

Although 10 countries, including Jamaica, Belize, the Bahamas, Guatemala, and El Salvador, have pledged a combined 3,100 troops for the MSS force, Kenya remains one of the few nations to have deployed officers on the ground.

Haiti has seen a dramatic increase in gang-related violence, with the UN documenting mass killings and widespread displacement. A recent report highlighted a massacre in Port-au-Prince by the Wharf Jérémie gang, in which at least 207 people were executed between December 6 and 11, 2024.

The UN estimates that over 5,600 people were killed in Haiti last year alone, while more than 17,000 have been killed or injured since gangs began tightening their grip on the country in 2022.

Gang control extends over vast areas, with an estimated 2.7 million Haitians—1.6 million of them women and children—living under constant threats of violence, extortion, and restrictions on movement.

In response to the deteriorating situation, the UN extended the MSS mission’s mandate until October 2025. The decision, made unanimously in September 2024, followed repeated warnings from experts and Haitian authorities about the urgent need for stronger international intervention.

Kenya has so far deployed nearly 800 police officers under the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, a UN-backed initiative aimed at restoring order in Haiti amid escalating violence.