Senior journalist and anchorperson Arshad Sharif was shot dead by the police on Sunday night in a “mistaken identity” case while travelling to Nairobi from the country’s Magadi town.
“We had an incident of shooting which turned out to be a case of mistaken identity involving a journalist. We will release more information later,” a police officer told the media.
The report stated that Sharif was shot in the head and killed by police after he and his driver allegedly breached a roadblock.
The publication, citing police, said that the manned roadblock had received information to intercept a car similar to the one, Sharif and his driver was in, following a carjacking incident in Nairobi in which a child was allegedly taken hostage.
It stated that Sharif was asked to stop for identification but he allegedly drove past the roadblock. This led to a brief chase and shooting that left the journalist dead, it added.
The Kenyan publication said that Sharif’s driver was injured and taken to hospital. It added that the driver told the law enforcement officials that he and Sharif were developers and headed for a site in Magadi.
The police headquarters have said that Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority will investigate the case. While a senior police officer shared that a comprehensive statement will be released later.
Local police have initiated a probe and are investigating the matter, the sources said.
Earlier, it was reported that Arshad Sharif was shot dead in Kenya, purportedly with a sniper shot to the head according to initial reports.
The journalist had left Pakistan recently citing threats to his life according to sources close to him.
The news outlet he had worked for, ARY News had also terminated from his job allegedly because of his growing association with Imran Khan.
Initially, Pakistani media including ARY News reported that Arshad Sharif had been killed in an accident however as details emerged, it was confirmed that he was shot.
Arshad Sharif was a consistent critic of Pakistan’s current government, fueling suspicions regarding his murder.
Taking to Twitter, Arshad’s wife Javeria wrote: “I lost friend, husband and my favourite journalist @arsched today, as per police he was shot in Kenya. Respect our privacy and in the name of breaking pls don’t share our family pics, personal details and his last pictures from the hospital. Remember us in ur prayers.”
Arshad Sharif’s murder caused a storm in Pakistan with various Pakistani journalists demanding an independent inquiry into the murder and punishment for those involved.
According to sources, Arshad Sharif had initially left Pakistan for the UK but it is unclear why he travelled to Kenya.
