President William Ruto has paid tribute to Kenyan police officers serving in the Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, singling out three who lost their lives in the line of duty, even as he urged the international community to provide predictable support for a successor mission.
Speaking at a high-level side event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Ruto hailed the sacrifice of officers Samuel Tomoi Kaetuai, Benedict Kabiru, and Kennedy Nzuve, who died while serving under the Kenyan-led mission.
“We particularly honour these three Kenyan officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. May their precious souls rest in eternal peace,” Ruto said.
He emphasized that while Kenya and partner countries had made significant strides — reclaiming Haiti’s airport, reopening schools, hospitals, and ports, and restoring police training facilities — the mission had operated under severe resource constraints.
Initially, the UN Security Council authorized 2,500 security personnel, but fewer than 1,000 were deployed, with Kenya providing 735. “We have been operating at 40% capacity. With minimal intervention, the gangs retreated. This is why I insist the Haiti crisis is not mission impossible,” Ruto noted.
The president called for the next phase of the mission to be guided by a clear mandate, adequate logistics, and predictable funding, cautioning against “guesswork” that endangered personnel and limited effectiveness.
“We cannot walk away from Haiti in haste. They are members of humanity like us, and we owe them a proper transition from what has been achieved,” Ruto stressed.
