The body of a Kenyan officer who died in Haiti arrives home for burial

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of a Kenyan police officer who died in Haiti’s U.N.-backed multinational mission to combat violent gangs has been returned home.

The body of Samuel Tompoi Kaetuai was on Monday night received by his family and senior police officers in the capital, Nairobi. The officer died on Feb. 23 after he was fatally shot by gangs in a western region of Haiti. He was the first Kenyan to be killed during the mission, which began deploying in June.

No date has been announced for his funeral.

A contingent of around 800 Kenyan police is leading the mission that includes soldiers and police from countries such as Jamaica, Guatemala and El Salvador who are working alongside Haiti’s National Police.

Last week, Kenya’s police inspector general Douglas Kanja described the death of the Kenyan officer as “a great loss” and disputed reports that Kenyan officers were ill-equipped to deal with violent gangs in Haiti.

Kanja said the well-being of the officers was Kenya's priority and that they are “well-trained for the mission.”

Last year Haiti and the U.S. warned that the mission that began in June lacks personnel and resources and called for a U.N. peacekeeping mission to replace the current deployment.

Last month, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said he would request that the U.N assumes funding for the structural and logistical expenses of the multinational force.

More than 5,600 people were reported killed in Haiti last year, with gang violence displacing more than 1 million Haitians in recent years, according to the U.N.