EXPLAINER: How families are informed when a soldier, police officer dies while in a mission

Inspector General Dougla Kanja when he visited the family of the late Samuel Tompoi who was killed in Haiti on March 2, 2025/NPS

When a Kenyan soldier dies while deployed outside the country or in line of duty, there is a well-established chain of notification meant to protect the dignity of the fallen and shield families from learning the news through rumours or social media.

Military protocol requires that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) or the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) headquarters first confirm the death through official field channels.

The commanding officer on the ground sends a formal report to Defence Headquarters in Nairobi.

According to insiders, once verified, the information is passed to the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and the Defence Cabinet Secretary.

Only after that confirmation does the Defence headquarters relay the news to the family.

“A senior person within the military, if not the CDF, will have to communicate to the listed next of kin...this could either be the father, mother, brother or sister or even the wife of the deceased,” said the source.

“The local chief will also be informed who will then travel physically to the home of the deceased to formally pass the information and offer immediate emotional support,” he adds.

This standard procedure is also followed in the National Police Service (NPS).

If a police officer dies while in a mission outside the country, NPS follows a similar.

Normally, the officer’s unit or mission commander sends a formal report to Police Headquarters in Nairobi.

The information is verified and passed to the Inspector General of Police (IG) through the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in charge of the relevant service, either the Kenya Police Service (KPS) or the Administration Police Service (APS).

In some cases, the casualty notification team, normally made up of a senior officer, a chaplain or counsellor, and sometimes a medical officer, travel in person to the soldier’s next of kin.

This visit is supposed to happen before any public statement is made.

The family is then guided on practical steps such as burial arrangements, benefits, and honours due to the fallen service member.

If the soldier or police officer has been missing in action (MIA), the process can take longer.

The military first issues a “missing” notification to the family, updating them as searches or intelligence efforts continue.

A death notification is only given once there is conclusive confirmation, either by recovering remains, having verified intelligence, or after an official presumption of death.

That is why the case of Constable Benedict Kibiru, the police officer who went missing in Haiti, has raised concern.

Relatives had reportedly been waiting for word on his status.

But on Tuesday, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President William Ruto announced that Kibiru was dead.

“I must use this occasion to honour the Kenyan officers, Samuel Kitwai, Benedict Kabiru, and Kennedy Nzuve, who lost their lives in the line of duty," Ruto said.

The MoD’s official manual on personnel administration, though not public in detail, generally follows Commonwealth and NATO standards.

It follows that no names are released until the next of kin have been personally informed.

The practice is designed to avoid families discovering a loved one’s death from the media.

According to our sources, this is highly irregular.

“The normal procedure is to send a team to inform the next of kin before any public communication,” said a senior officer familiar with police casualty management.

“Families should never discover such news from a broadcast.”

Sometimes, however, this process breaks down.

In fast-moving diplomatic or security situations, top leadership may feel pressure to mention fallen officers, especially if the loss has wider symbolic significance.

The public remarks by the President can precede the final notification if communication between the foreign deployment, DoD, NPS Headquarters, and State House is delayed.

In Kibiru’s case, sources suggest confirmation of his death reached Nairobi shortly before the President’s UN address, but the notification team had not yet visited the family.

The officer who was part of the Kenyan contingent serving under the Multinational Security Support (MMS) mission is suspected to have been killed by armed gangs in March 2025.

This is after an ambush by the gangs while on patrol.

The family has since moved to court, claiming information has been withheld by officers from the Attorney General’s office.

His mother, Jacinta Wanjiku Kabiru, petitioned the High Court, requesting the government to clarify whether Kuria is alive or deceased and to disclose all efforts made to locate him.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the AG told court that it is not aware that Kabiru died in Haiti, contrary to the remarks made by the President at a United Nations meeting.

Appearing before Justice Chacha Mwita, lawyer Betty Mwasao acting for AG and other government agencies, told the court that the government’s position remains that the officer is “missing in action”.

This, as she requested additional time to confirm the accuracy of the President’s statement.

The lawyers representing the family, however, told the court that the president’s public acknowledgment that Kabiru was among the officers who died in Haiti is cited as evidence

"If the President’s statement is accurate, then it effectively disposes of the request for information since confirmation has already been made at the highest level," court heard.