A second Kenyan police officer deployed under the controversial Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti has been shot and injured, sending shockwaves back home and raising fresh concerns over the country’s risky venture in the gang-infested Caribbean nation.
The officer, whose identity is being withheld pending family notification, was hit by gunfire during a fierce security operation on Tuesday, March 18, in Kenscoff — a notorious gang stronghold in Port-au-Prince. The injured officer was swiftly evacuated to the ASPEN Level 2 Hospital, where medics confirmed he is in stable condition.
This latest attack comes less than a month after Constable Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai was fatally shot in the same volatile area on February 23, 2025. Kaetuai became the first Kenyan casualty of the MSS mission, which has now entered its deadliest phase as heavily armed gangs tighten their grip on Haiti’s capital.
Haiti, a nation on the brink of collapse, has witnessed over 5,600 deaths, the displacement of more than a million people, and a total breakdown of law and order since 2023. The Kenyan-led MSS force, tasked with restoring calm, has faced resistance from gang militias reportedly better armed and financed than the mission’s troops.
In Nairobi, word of the second shooting sparked outrage and renewed calls for President William Ruto’s administration to reconsider Kenya’s leadership role in what is increasingly seen as a suicide mission.
“This is no longer peacekeeping. We are sending our sons and daughters into a war zone without a clear exit strategy,” one senior opposition leader lamented.
Analysts warn that the spiraling violence threatens to turn Kenya’s international peacekeeping reputation into a nightmare, with the country’s officers now caught in the crosshairs of Haiti’s brutal gang wars.
The National Police Service is expected to issue an official statement amid growing pressure from the public and human rights groups, who argue that the cost of Kenya’s mission to Haiti is becoming unbearable — both in human lives and national pride.
As the mission continues, Kenyans are left wondering: how many more lives must be lost before the government pulls the plug on Haiti?
Channel 15 News will continue to follow this developing story.
