A Kenyan court ruled on Monday that the 2022 shooting death of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif by police in Nairobi was unlawful and unconstitutional. The ruling has been hailed as a significant victory by Sharif’s family and their lawyer.
Judge Stella Mutuku criticised Kenya’s attorney general and director of public prosecutions for their lack of diligence in investigating the circumstances surrounding Sharif’s death. The journalist was shot at a traffic checkpoint by police, prompting accusations from his family that an elite unit of the Kenyan police intentionally killed him. Sharif, 50, had fled Pakistan earlier that year to avoid arrest on charges of denigrating Pakistani national institutions.
In December 2022, a Pakistani investigative team concluded that Sharif’s murder was a “planned assassination.” Their report suggested that the bullet that killed Sharif was fired from inside the car or at close range, contradicting the initial police claim of mistaken identity during a search for a similar vehicle involved in a child abduction case.
Despite ongoing investigations by Kenyan authorities, no police officers involved in the shooting have been arrested or charged. However, Monday’s court verdict mandated that Kenyan authorities conclude their investigation and bring charges against the officers suspected of the killing. Additionally, the court ordered the government to compensate Sharif’s family with 10 million Kenyan shillings (approximately $78,000).
Dudley Ochiel, the lawyer representing Sharif’s widow, Javeria Siddique, described the ruling as a “huge victory” for Sharif’s supporters in Kenya, Pakistan, and globally. Ochiel expressed expectations that the attorney general would soon charge the officers responsible for Sharif’s death.
Sharif’s killing shocked Pakistan, leading to thousands attending his funeral days after his death. Despite initial denials by Pakistani state institutions of involvement in Sharif’s death, the court’s ruling has confirmed suspicions of an intentional killing.
Ms. Siddique, who filed the complaint against the Kenyan police with the support of Kenyan journalists’ unions, acknowledged the bittersweet nature of the victory, stating, “At least now everyone knows he was killed intentionally.”
