Confusion Over Vehicle Ferrying Pakistani Journalist Killed In Kenya

Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif travelled in a vehicle that had a different registration number from the one that was reported missing in Nairobi before his demise.

A police report earlier on Monday, October 24 revealed that he and his brother were driving a vehicle that was carjacked in an incident which also saw the owner's son abducted after he left him inside the car.

He reported the incident to Pangani Police Station where the officers located the son at Olosuritia ACK Church within Kiserian. He was also located at the Kiserian dam estate and later at Olepolos Hills.

"It started when officers from DCI Starehe circulated a report of theft of a motor vehicle/abduction vide OB 70/23/10/2022 that one Douglas Wainaina parked his motor vehicle registration number KDJ 700F outside an electrical shop and left his son namely Dancan Kamau inside the said motor vehicle. On return, he found the said motor vehicle missing," the report read in part.

The registration details of the car Arshad Sharif's brother drove before the shooting of the investigative journalist on October 23, 2022. /CITIZEN TV

However, a statement from the National Police Service (NPS) spokesperson, Bruno Shioso, revealed that Sharif rode in a Toyota Landcruiser V8 registered under KDG 200M, which raised a number of questions, especially on how police confused the registration numbers of the two vehicles.

"NPS regrets to announce an incident that occurred last night along Kwenia farm/Kamukuru marram road within Magadi, Kajiado where a foreigner National namely Arshad Sharif, a Pakistan national aged 50 years was fatally wounded by a police officer while a passenger in a motor vehicle KDG 200M. At the time of the incident, the deceased was in the company of his brother namely, Khurram Ahmed," part of the statement by Shioso read. 

More questions raised included whether the police attempted to stop the vehicle and if the occupants defied the orders and why the police open fire on Sharif and his brother, Khurram Ahmed, yet they were not shooting at them on the fateful night of Sunday, October 23.

Also challenged was why the police used lethal force that night instead of shooting at the vehicle's tyres to immobilize it. The Landcruiser was shot nine times, four of them on the right side of its boot, by a contingent of General Service Unit (GSU) officers who were responding to a carjacking and abduction incident.

The vehicle, upon probing by the police, had one bullet hole on the left side of the windscreen, the side where Sharif was seated at the time of the incident.

Also questioned was why police targeted the passenger instead of the driver and why they opened fire when there was a child allegedly in the vehicle that was reportedly carjacked.

Also posed was what caused the mistaken identity if the vehicle was common along Magadi Road in Kajiado County. The late Sharif arrived at Kwenia Farm on Saturday, October 22, where he was a frequent visitor alongside Khurram, which is located 40 kilometres from the road.

The deceased spent the weekend on the farm, which had several facilities, including a shooting range which is believed to be owned by his friend of Pakistani origin. Staff who worked at the farm noted that Sharif left the farm with his brother on the fateful day.

Reports indicated that the renowned journalist continued compiling an investigative report he had been working on. 

Another question involved the colour and model of the vehicle that was carjacked. Police who erected a stone roadblock claimed that they stopped the car, which was under their radar, in search of the missing vehicle.

However, Sharif's brother reportedly sped past the roadblock, prompting the law enforcement officers to chase the car and open fire, leading to the death of the investigative journalist. An autopsy report indicated that the broadcaster died of a single gunshot through his head.

The Pakistani government urged President William Ruto to expedite investigations into his death.

"Just had a telephone call with Kenyan President William Ruto about the tragic death of Arshad Sharif in Kenya.