The Ministry of Interior in Pakistan has deployed a 3-man team to Kenya to investigate the killing of top journalist Arshad Sharif on Sunday night, in a case of ‘mistaken identity’.
The intelligence officers sent to Kenya are Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director Athar Waheed, the Deputy Director-General of Intelligence Bureau (IB) Omar Shahid Hamid and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant Colonel Saad Ahmed.
The team is expected to travel to Kenya immediately and submit their reports to the Pakistani Interior Ministry. The foreign ministry and the officials from the Pakistani high commission in Kenya are to assist the team in their probe.
The circumstances leading to the death of the Pakistan Journalist are yet to become clear as yesterday, the police released a contradicting statement from Sunday’s release.
The GSU officers responsible for the shooting which lead to Sharif’s death now say that an occupant in the Land Cruiser Prado shot at them first after escaping the road blockade, forcing the GSU officers to open a cold fire of 9 bullets at the vehicle.
What the GSU officers can’t seem to answer is how they allegedly mistook a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 for a Mercedes Benz Sprinter. Furthermore, the two vehicles were of different license plate registrations, with the Land Cruiser bearing KDJ 200M and the Mercedes Sprinter’s KDG 700F.
The police officers at the shooting scene have also failed to answer why they failed to give chase first before choosing violence.
Prior to the shooting, a man identified as Douglas Wainaina is said to have reported to detectives at Pangani Police Station that he had left his car in the parking at Ngara area with his son inside, but upon returning to where he had left the vehicle, he could not find it.
According to police, after ‘tracking the vehicle’ they found that it was within the Kiserian area in Kajiado County prompting them to alert their counterparts.
Reports indicate that the renowned journalist Arshad Sharif and his brother, who hosted him in Kenya, Mr. Ahmed had gone for an entertainment retreat in Kiserian which also had a shooting range. The Land Cruiser is registered to Mr. Ahmed who lives in Westlands.
Police shoot top Pakistani journalist dead in Kajiado, “say it’s mistaken identity”
The two left the joint for home at around 8 pm Sunday evening, tracking through a dusty feeder road before arriving at the main road. They were then stopped by the Kiserian officers who had set up a roadblock, following the inspector’s orders.
Initially, after the shooting, the officers recorded in the OB at Magadi Police Station that the occupants of the land cruiser were defiant to stop the vehicle, which made them open fire. Now, the police claim that the car occupants opened fire first prompting the officers to shoot back.
Mr. Ahmed who was on the wheel is said to have allegedly made a call to his friend Mr. Naqar Ahmed who lives in Tinga, 26 km from the shooting, upon hearing the gunshots as he tried to navigate away from the hail of bullets. Upon arrival at Naqar’s place, they found that Sharif had died from a gunshot wound to his skull.
Post-mortem reports indicate that a bullet was fired and penetrated the back of Sharif’s skull, fatally ending his life. The Pakistani journalist’s body was flown out of Kenya on Monday evening and arrived home on Tuesday, getting a painful reception from his wife and family.
“My husband coming back home in a coffin. Authorities in Kenya are answerable to us,” wrote Javeria Siddique, Sharif’s wife.