Kenyan officer, civilian dead in Haiti after fatal road accident; eight officers injured

Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on Aug 31, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A member of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support mission in Haiti is dead along with a civilian after two armored vehicles were involved in an accident along a mountaintop road above Port-au-Prince.

The fatalities were confirmed by Jack Ombaka, the spokesman for the MSS. In addition to the deaths, eight MSS officers were injured, three of them critically. “They required medical evacuation to the Dominican Republic for specialized care after receiving initial treatment,” a hospital that cares for injured members of the security mission.

The accident, Ombaka said, occurred at approximately 5 p.m. Sunday along the Kenscoff–Pétion-Ville road at Pelerin 9 in the capital, during a recovery operation involving two MaxxPro vehicles.

“While one was towing the other due to a mechanical failure, an accident occurred,” he said. “Unfortunately, civilians were also involved.”

The MaxxPro vehicles are the largest of the armored vehicles that were donated by the United States for use by the mission. While one vehicle crashed into a wall, another subsequently overturned, the MSS said in an earlier statement.

“The injured were rushed to Lambert Santé Hospital in Pétion-Ville, where an MSS officer and a civilian were pronounced deceased,” said Ombaka.

This is the second time in over a week that the security effort in Haiti has been struck by tragedy. Less than two weeks ago, two members of the Haiti National Police SWAT unit were killed when a “kamikaze” drone exploded on the site where the officers were. Two other police officers were injured. The mission has also lost two members of its force in gang ambushes; while one has been confirmed dead the other is still been regarded as missing even though local media has reported him as dead.

Images shared online Sunday after the road fatality showed Haitians on the mountaintop road trying to assist with rescue operations after the collision, which brought traffic to a halt and forced motorists to seek an alternative route.

“MSS extends its gratitude to members of the local community who immediately assisted in rescue efforts,” the statement said.

Ombaka also said: “The MSS offers its sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of this tragic accident. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and the injured in their recovery.”