Family seeks answers as kin for third month in Haiti
According to the family, the Director of Operations at police headquarters dismissed the reports as fake news spread on social media
The family of the missing Kenya police officer attached to the Multinational Security Mission in Haiti has filed a petition in court seeking to compel the government to explain his whereabouts.
The petition filed by of 34-year-old Benedict Kabiru’s mother Jacinta Wanjiku, his brother Phillip Kamau and his uncle Daniel Ndung’u is seeking answers from the officer’s employer National Police Service (NPS), as they have criticized the state for their silence on whether he is still alive.
They have explained that their son, nephew, and brother, who was among the second contingent of officers sent to Haiti in July last year, was in communication with them updating them of his safety until March when he suddenly went quiet following online reports that he had been captured by a gang said to have attacked an armoured vehicle he was in.
“He was in good health and kept in touch with his family, updating them about his safety and work until March, when he suddenly went quiet following online reports that he had been captured by a gang said to have attacked an armoured vehicle he was in,” the court documents state in part.
According to the family, the Director of Operations at police headquarters dismissed the reports as fake news spread on social media.
However, the senior officer reportedly went silent when the family pressed for more information on Kabiru’s whereabouts.
Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, the National Police Service Commission, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi have been named as respondents in the petition.
The family has shared that Kabiru was recruited as an Administration Police officer and trained at the Embakasi Administration Police Training Centre.
He was later posted to various stations, including Busia, Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Boni Forest, and Moyale, where he served in the Border Patrol Unit.
They stated that Kabiru joined the mission to Haiti under orders issued by the government.
