Kenya: Judge Blames Police for Pakistani Journalist’s Death

A Kenyan court ruled Monday that the shooting death of a Pakistani journalist by police in Nairobi in 2022 was unlawful and unconstitutional, a lawyer and the journalist’s family said.

Judge Stella Mutuku also criticised Kenya ‘s attorney general and director of public prosecutions for their laxity in investigating the death of Arshad Sharif , after police opened fire on his car at a traffic checkpoint.
Arshad Sharif’s family has accused an elite unit of the Kenyan police of intentionally killing Arshad Sharif. The 50-year-old journalist fled Pakistan earlier this year to avoid arrest in his country on charges of denigrating Pakistani national institutions.
In December 2022, a group of Pakistani investigators concluded that Sharif’s murder was a “planned assassination” . Their report suggests that the bullet that fatally wounded Sharif was fired from inside the car or at close range.
Kenyan authorities continue to investigate the killing and none of the police officers involved in the shooting have been arrested or charged.
In its verdict on Monday, the court ordered Kenyan authorities to conclude their investigation into the police officers. It also ordered the government to compensate Sharif’s family to the tune of 10 million Kenyan shillings ($78,000).