Family seeks clarity on officer's death in Haiti

A heavy cloud of grief hangs over the home of Benedict Kabiru, an officer who had been deployed to Haiti, last year.

The once lively homestead in Kiambu now sits in silence, broken only by muffled sobs and shuffle of mourners offering comfort to a family still struggling with the turn of events.

Their agony, which began six months ago when Kabiru was reported missing, was renewed on Monday when President William Ruto, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, announced that Kabiru was among three Kenyan officers killed in Haiti.

“I must use this opportunity to honour the Kenyan officers Samuel Tumoi, Benedict Kabiru, Kennedy Nzumbi who lost their lives in the line of duty,” Ruto said.

For the family, the president’s pronouncement was not only shocking but also deeply confusing. Kabiru’s mother, Jacinta Wanjiku, says they had clung to the government’s assurances since May that her son was missing in action and efforts were underway to trace him.

“The President’s confession has shattered us. Why do I have to learn of my son’s death through social media, and from a speech abroad? Since May, we have knocked on doors seeking answers in vain. What exactly are they not telling us?” she asked, her voice breaking.

The family’s ordeal began long before the UNGA announcement. For nearly six months after Kabiru disappeared in Haiti, they were left groping in the dark, confused, anxious, and increasingly frustrated by what they describe as government silence and neglect. According to relatives, what started as a hopeful wait for answers soon turned into a painful ordeal of unanswered calls, broken promises and mounting distress. Speaking earlier to The Standard, family spokesperson Daniel Ndung’u recounted endless frustrations, including a failed promise by police to arrange a counselling session.

“We were told a car would come to take us to Nairobi for counselling. We prepared ourselves, but on the very day, they cancelled. Since then, nothing. If it is counselling, they want to offer, let them proceed, but more importantly, they should give us real updates about what happened to our son,” said Ndung’u.

Kabiru was part of the Kenyan contingent deployed under a UN-backed multinational mission to restore peace in gang-ravaged Haiti. He went missing after a reported gang ambush, sparking widespread speculation about his fate. At the time, disturbing videos allegedly showing his lifeless body circulated online, with claims that gangs were holding his remains. But the government dismissed the footage as AI-generated, insisting he was still missing.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen later confirmed that since the mission began, one officer had died, two were injured, and one,widely understood to be Kabiru, remained unaccounted for. He promised transparency, but the family insists that no meaningful contact or support followed.

Jacinta recalls how the silence from government offices tormented her. “Since they told us Benedict was missing, it has not been easy. Friends and neighbours comforted us, but the government, which took my son for that mission, has been quiet. When I call the police, they just say the rescue mission is ongoing and hang up. For months we were left to wait, hoping someone would walk through that gate with news,” she said.

Her daily life, she admits, was consumed by dread. “I couldn’t go anywhere. I just stayed home, waiting, hoping maybe someone from the government would show up, or a message would come through. But nothing ever did,” she said tearfully.

Kaburi has left behind his wife and an 18-year-old daughter yet to join university. His brother, Philip Kamau, said they had lived through 179 days of uncertainty, days of clinging to hope despite conflicting reports.