The top-performing student and the 10-year-old dancer killed at the Citadelle Laferrière

Two sisters — Rose Anne Derly and Ruth Naïka — lost their lives in the crush that killed more than twenty people at Milot in mid-April. Nearly a month after the tragedy, the justice system has still not identified those responsible

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When Noël Servil brought his two daughters to Milot on April 11th, the pastor hoped to show his children — aged sixteen and ten — Haiti’s most iconic monument.

The eldest, Rose Anne Derly, had finished first in the ninth-grade exams in the commune of Saint-Raphaël for the most recent academic year. Leader of the children’s choir at her Christian church, the teenager had maintained that level of excellence throughout her entire primary education.

Her younger sister, Ruth Naïka, was in third grade. The little girl was set to celebrate her tenth birthday at the beginning of May. Passionate about dance, she had recently multiplied her photo sessions to mark the occasion.

Then the tragedy struck.

In the middle of a massive crush, Pastor Servil found Rose Anne Derly’s body lying on the Citadelle’s waterlogged floor. Attempts to resuscitate her failed. Her body would remain exposed in the rain all evening, alongside at least sixteen other victims killed in the stampede.

Squeezed by the crowd, Ruth Naïka drew her last breath at the hospital in Milot, in the presence of her younger brother.

Pastor Servil still struggles to accept the loss of his two daughters, whom he describes as « very useful and intelligent » children who disappeared « as if in a game. »

Read also : Deadly crowd surge at Haiti’s iconic Citadelle Laferrière

« I lost them because the State did not take responsibility, » he said.

Nearly a month after the incident, which officially claimed twenty-five lives, the justice system has still designated no one as responsible.

Seven individuals were detained following the incident and heard by the examining magistrate as part of the investigation. Contacted by AyiboPost about developments in the case, the government commissioner, Erno Zéphirin, stated that he had recommended the release of six of the seven people arrested, including the mayor of Milot, Wesner Joseph. The judge overseeing the investigation, however, has only followed that recommendation for two of them.

The Citadelle traditionally draws large numbers of visitors during Holy Week. But this year, an event that was heavily promoted on social media drew an unusually large crowd in the week that followed.

Local authorities had neither banned the event nor put in place sufficient measures to manage the flow of visitors.

Pastor Servil arrived at the Citadelle Laferrière around noon. He had left Saint-Raphaël with 48 members of his congregation, including his three children — his two daughters and his son — to visit the monument.

At the site’s parking area, the group was unable to find a guide, « there were so many people. »

The rain was falling heavily and visitors were moving around in small groups. All had paid 100 gourdes to access the site.

Located about fifty minutes from Milot, the commune of Saint-Raphaël counted at least eight victims, the majority of them children. The commune’s principal mayor, Homère Junior Gélin, himself lost a cousin.

Frédo Lucien, a resident of Cap-Haïtien, lost his older sister, Magdaline Lucien. A merchant, she leaves behind two children aged seven and two. She was due to celebrate her 28th birthday on July 3rd, 2026.

« When I went to the scene, I found her body lying in the rain; she was no longer breathing, » Frédo Lucien recounted. « I wanted to take the body down, but the police would not allow it because the justice of the peace had not yet completed his assessment. »

Like many other families, Lucien would not recover the body until the following day, around noon.

On April 16th, 2026, the departmental delegation of the North announced that it had handed 250,000 gourdes in cash to each of the victims’ families.

Despite this financial assistance, relatives continue to demand justice.

« We had the urgency of burying the victims, but that is not what we consider reparation, » said Evens Joseph, a member of the administrative council of the first communal section of Bois-Neuf, in Saint-Raphaël.

On Friday, April 17th, Pastor Servil sang at the funeral of his two daughters at the Christian Church of Saint-Raphaël.

He thinks often of Rose Anne, whom he describes as his « good friend » and his « treasurer. » Father and daughter shared the same phone, « because she wasn’t old enough yet for me to give her one of her own, » he explained.

He also mourns the absence of Ruth Naïka, who always made sure to be the first of his three children to come and kiss him when he came home from work.

Today, Pastor Servil is demanding « justice and reparation. » But for now, what he is searching for above all is psychological support — so he can stop thinking about what happened.