Kenyan officers killed two Haitians in a traffic accident in August. One of the victim’s families is so deeply in debt that they can’t afford a lawyer. The international mission has remained silent
An armored vehicle from the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) driven by Kenyan officers killed Roberto Jean and a man known as Fanfan in late August on the road to Pèlerin.
The MaxxPro vehicle was towing another when it suffered a mechanical failure that caused the crash. The two Haitians riding a motorcycle were killed instantly, along with one Kenyan officer.
More than a month after the accident, neither Haitian authorities nor mission representatives have reached out to the victims’ families to begin the compensation process, according to two relatives interviewed by AyiboPost.
The family — already exhausted by the debts incurred to organize the funeral — is struggling to gather the money needed to pay the lawyers handling their compensation claim.
Jean’s mother, Marie Michelle Vérilus, told AyiboPost she remains deeply shaken by the untimely death of her eldest son. “It’s very hard. I still haven’t been able to return to my business,” she said.
Marie Michelle Vérilus wants answers from the authorities. She said she went to the Pétion-Ville mayor’s office, which referred her to the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police, which in turn directed her to the base of the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSSM) in Clercine.
But the family hasn’t been able to raise the 75,000 gourdes in legal fees demanded by the lawyers they contacted, after already borrowing several hundred thousand gourdes to cover the funeral costs. “The funeral expenses destroyed us. I still don’t know how I’ll pay back the loans,” said the 45-year-old merchant.
A motorcycle crushed beneath the Kenyan armored vehicle. » Photo: Jean Feguens Regala for AyiboPost
The case is currently at a standstill, according to one of the lawyers approached by the family.
“There’s no progress. We haven’t yet summoned the mission, because the family hasn’t followed through with the payment of legal fees,” he explained.
In a statement released shortly after the tragedy, the MSSM reported that eight of its officers had been injured — three of them seriously — in the incident. The officer who died succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.
However, the official account given by the mission contradicts eyewitness reports and observations gathered by AyiboPost.
While the MSSM initially announced the death of only one Haitian civilian, other sources and a photojournalist from AyiboPost confirmed that two civilians were killed.
Badge belonging to Jean Roberto. Photo courtesy of his family, via AyiboPost
The victims were identified as Roberto Jean, 31, and Fanfan, a photographer who lived in Fort-Jacques.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, local residents blocked the road in protest. Fanfan’s family could not be reached before this story was published.
More than a month later, Marie Jo, Roberto’s partner of eight months, says she still doesn’t know how she’ll recover from the loss.
“We were together on Friday, and he left on Saturday morning to go home. We had planned to move in together by the end of the year,” said the young woman, her voice hoarse.
Marie Jo described Jean as a “kind” and “caring” person. He had registered for the new recruitment class of the Haitian National Police and was working as a security guard at Caribbean Market in Pétion-Ville.
According to his family, his only daughter — a three-year-old from a previous relationship — just started school this year.
More than a month after the accident, neither Haitian authorities nor mission representatives have reached out to the victims’ families to begin the compensation process
Under the bilateral agreement signed between Haiti and Kenya for the deployment of the MSSM, deployed personnel enjoy local criminal immunity — meaning they cannot be prosecuted under Haitian law.
However, attorney Lacks-Guvens Cadette says the mission could still be held civilly liable. It is therefore possible for victims’ families to seek compensation under civil law.
The public law expert explained that legal procedures involving international forces under UN authority are often complex and expensive — and rarely reach a conclusion.
He cited past cases of human rights abuses attributed to the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), as well as the UN’s responsibility for introducing cholera to Haiti through its peacekeepers in 2010.
Read also : CholeraGate: the earthquake, the climate and the environment were good excuses
It took six years for the United Nations to acknowledge its role in the epidemic that killed nearly 10,000 people in Haiti.
To this day, the organization refuses to individually compensate the more than one million victims of the disease, which continues to claim lives across the country.
The agreement between the Haitian government and Kenya regarding the MSSM outlines the procedures for compensation in cases of proven material or civilian losses caused by the mission.
According to the document, once liability is established, the MSSM “may facilitate payment of compensation within the limits of approved financial resources, which may be similar to those set out in UN General Assembly Resolution 52/247 (June 26, 1998).”
But under the agreement, any claim must be filed within six months of the incident, and no later than one year after the end of the mission’s mandate.
For any complaint or claim, the victim’s family must bring a civil action against the mission, according to Me Cadette.
However, in his view, regarding the August crash, “the mission should have taken the initiative to contact the families to avoid a scandal that could damage its image.”
Fritznel Pierre, head of a human rights organization, said he was part of the steering committee for an accountability component integrated into the multinational mission.
Also read: A look inside the agreement signed with Kenya for the multinational force
This body was tasked with recording misconduct by officers and receiving complaints from possible victims among the population.
Contacted by AyiboPost, Pierre said a Jamaican official on the commission recently told him the body was conducting an investigation to “determine the degree of the mission’s responsibility in the accident.”
The mission did not respond to AyiboPost’s request for comment before publication.
Deployed to Haiti in June 2024, the Multinational Security Support Mission was expected to help the Haitian National Police fight gangs.
But more than a year later, gangs continue to spread death and grief across multiple regions of the country.
According to the United Nations, more than 3,000 people have been killed by violence in 2025, which has also displaced over one million others.
Last month, the UN Security Council approved the transition of the MSSM into a gang-suppression force, incorporating personnel already active on the ground.
The family of Roberto still hopes for justice and compensation.
“[The Kenyans] didn’t fight insecurity as they promised. Instead, they brought me tears,” Marie Jo told AyiboPost.
By : Wethzer Piercin
Cover photo | Armored vehicle accident involving Kenyan forces on August 31, 2025, along the Pèlerin road. Photo by Jean Feguens Regala for AyiboPost.
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