Gang Suppression Force denies reports of Kenyan police deaths in Haiti
In a statement issued on Monday, the GSF confirmed that all its personnel were safe, stressing that no Kenyan officer had lost their life during the latest engagement.
The Gang Suppression Force (GSF), which includes Kenyan officers deployed in Haiti, has rejected reports suggesting that Kenyan police officers were killed in recent operations in the Caribbean nation.
In a statement issued on Monday, the GSF confirmed that all its personnel were safe, stressing that no Kenyan officer had lost their life during the latest engagement.
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The force explained that its teams were working jointly with the Haitian National Police (PNH) and the Haitian Armed Forces (FAD’H) in the Artibonite Department.
Their operation, concentrated on the Petite-Rivière-Liancourt-Pont Sondé route, targeted gang networks and sought to reopen transport corridors previously blocked by armed groups.
According to the GSF, officers came under heavy resistance from members of the Gran-Griff gang, prompting an intense exchange of fire.
The joint security teams eventually subdued the gang members, clearing the area and restoring movement.
The heavy exchange reportedly triggered rumours claiming that Kenyan officers had died, which the GSF dismissed as false.
During the same operation, gang members tried to defend their positions by digging trenches and occupying tall buildings to throw Molotov cocktails at the advancing security teams.
Specialised GSF units, recently renamed from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS), neutralised these threats with assistance from the Haitian National Police, securing the area and ensuring residents’ safety.
The offensive also allowed the safe delivery of armoured vehicles to nearby police posts.
The GSF’s clarification follows previous incidents involving Kenyan and Haitian officers since the deployment began.
On August 31, a Kenyan officer, Corporal Kennedy Mutuku Nzuve, died after a road accident in Pétion-Ville during a recovery operation along the Kenscoff–Pétion-Ville road.
He was rushed to Lambert Santé Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Just a week earlier, on August 20, two elite Haitian SWAT officers serving alongside Kenyan counterparts were killed by a “kamikaze” drone explosion at their base in Kenscoff, leaving two more officers injured.
In a separate case earlier this year, another Kenyan officer attached to the then-MSS mission died on February 23 after being injured in a security operation in the Artibonite region.
The officer, wounded during the Ségur-Savien engagement, was airlifted to Aspen Medical Hospital, where he later succumbed.
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