Kennedy Mutuku Nzuve, the Kenyan police officer who died while on duty in Haiti, succumbed to injuries sustained in a road accident, an autopsy has confirmed.
The autopsy was conducted a day after his body was repatriated to Kenya on Friday, bringing closure to nearly a month of uncertainty for his grieving family.
Officer Nzuve died on August 31 while serving in the United Nations-backed Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti, becoming the third Kenyan officer to lose his life since the deployment.
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On Saturday, his remains arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where a sombre mood engulfed family, friends, and colleagues who turned up to receive him.
“We have been waiting for agonising three weeks… it has been a tough moment for us,” said family spokesperson Steve Mutuku Peter, who added that while the pain remains heavy, the family is relieved to finally begin burial preparations.
Following a brief requiem mass led by clergy from the Administration Police Service, Nzuve’s body was transferred to Chiromo Mortuary, where Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor confirmed that he succumbed to multiple injuries from the road crash.
His burial has been scheduled for next Thursday.
The family has appealed to the government to assist with funeral arrangements. “Procedurally, it is the government that repatriated his remains.
We are extending the same request as we prepare for his send-off… I’m sure the government will chip in so that we can give him a befitting send-off,” Peter noted.
Officer Nzuve died when an armoured vehicle overturned during an operation in Port-au-Prince.
His death follows those of 31-year-old Samuel Kaetuai, who was buried in March, and Benedict Kabiru, whose body is yet to be repatriated.
The incident has renewed calls for continued support to the families of Kenyan officers serving abroad under high-risk peacekeeping missions.