Murkomen defends Ruto's revelation of Kabiru's death at UNGA as family notified hours later

President William Ruto addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, where he announced the death of Kenyan police officer Benedict Kabiru. [File, Standard]

The family of Benedict Kabiru, a Kenyan police officer missing in Haiti since March, says they were only informed of his death on Wednesday night, hours after President William Ruto had already announced it at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Ruto on Tuesday named Kabiru among three Kenyan officers who had died while serving under the Multinational Security Support Mission.

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

The announcement shocked Kabiru's relatives in Thamanda village, Kiambu who said no official communication had reached them before the president's remarks.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Thursday defended the timing, noting that government officials were already on their way to visit the family when Ruto spoke. "Any lapse in communication was occasioned by time synchronisation," explained Murkomen during a tour of Garissa County.

The National Police Service later issued a statement confirming Kabiru's death. Police said he went missing on March 25 during an ambush along the Carrefour Paye-Savien route in Haiti's Artibonite region and was declared dead after search operations. "The family has been notified," observed police spokesperson Muchangi Nyaga.

The Attorney General's office, however, told a Nairobi court on Wednesday it was unaware Kabiru had died, contradicting Ruto's remarks and exposing the mixed signals around the officer's fate.

Kabiru's relatives filed a petition in June seeking answers from the state on his disappearance. His wife Miriam Watima and their 18-year-old daughter have been left grappling with the loss, with the daughter delaying her university plans.

Kenya has now lost three officers in Haiti since deploying police in 2024 to lead the multinational mission tasked with restoring stability in the Caribbean nation.