Pakistan Deploys Top Detectives to Kenya to Probe Journalist Arshad Sharif's Shooting

The Pakistani government has deployed three top military and intelligence officers to Kenya to probe the killing of renowned journalist Arshad Sharif by police officers.

The three, the Federal Investigation Agency Director Athar Waheed, the Deputy Director-General of the Intelligence Bureau Omar Shahid Hamid, and Lt. Colonel Saad Ahmed will travel to Kenya immediately, according to the Pakistani Interior Ministry. 

"In pursuance of the Prime Minister's office, the following team is constituted to ascertain the facts related to the murder of senior journalist Arshad Sharif. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Pakistan's High Commission in Nairobi shall facilitate the aforementioned visit," the ministry said in a notice.

The National Police Service (NPS) said Sharif was killed by a barrage of bullets fired by General Service Unit (GSU) police personnel from Magadi Training School on Sunday night. 

The slain journalist was being driven to Nairobi by his brother Khurram Ahmed when they were signaled to stop by police officers at a roadblock in Magadi, Kajiado County before they opened fire at their vehicle, according to a report filed at Magadi police station. Police claim the two ignored a roadblock of small stones, forcing the officers to open fire.

Police termed his shooting as a case of “mistaken identity” while pursuing an alleged stolen vehicle in Kajiado County, but questions have been raised after it was established that the alleged stolen vehicle is a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van registration number KDJ 700F while the one Sharif was traveling in is a Toyota Landcruiser V8 registration number KDJ 200M.

Prior to the shooting, a man named Douglas Wainaina reported to Pangani Police Station that his vehicle had been stolen after leaving it at a parking in the Ngara area with his son inside.

After tracking the stolen vehicle, police said they found it was within the Kiserian area in Kajiado County, prompting them to alert their counterparts. Sharif would later be killed under a hail of bullets fired by GSU officers who had mounted a roadblock in pursuit of the alleged stolen car.

The alleged stolen vehicle was later found by police at a petrol station in Kiserian, with Wainaina’s 26-year-old son on the steering wheel.