A senior Pakistani journalist was shot dead Sunday night along the Nairobi-Magadi highway in what police termed a mistaken identity.
After Arshad Sharif and his driver allegedly violated a roadblock established to check on vehicles using the route, Arshad Sharif was shot in the head and murdered by police.
They were flagged down at a roadblock being held by a group of police officials while travelling from Magadi town to Nairobi, according to the police.
Independent Policing Oversight Authority will handle the case, according to police headquarters.
A senior police officer acknowledged the shooting and said a full statement will be made public later.
“We had a shooting that was actually a mistaken identity situation involving a journalist. Later, we will provide more details, the officer promised.
In response to a carjacking incident in the Pangani neighborhood of Nairobi when a toddler was taken hostage, police claim that at the roadblock there was a demand for police to intercept a car identical to the one they were driving.
They were stopped and asked for identification after Sharif’s automobile had made its appearance at the roadblock a little while earlier.
They allegedly ignored the barricade and continued driving.
This led to a quick chase and shooting, which resulted in Sharif’s death. His driver was hurt in the rollover and sent to the hospital.
He eventually admitted to being a developer and that he and the deceased employee were travelling to a site in Magadi.
Javeria Siddiqui, Sharif’s wife, verified the awful news on Twitter and acknowledged that her husband had died in Kenya.
She wrote, “I lost a friend, a husband, and my favorite journalist today. According to the police, he was shot in Kenya.”
She also encouraged the people and the media to refrain from posting on social media any images of their families, private information, or Sharif’s final images from the hospital.
Sharif previously worked for ARY News, and after leaving the network, he moved to Dubai.
After the news of Sharif’s passing spread, condolences poured in from all around the nation.
Imran Khan, the chairman of the PTI and a former prime minister, offered his sympathies for the loss of journalist Arshad Sharif.
Hina Pervaiz Butt, the leader of the PML-N, offered her sincere condolences for the journalist’s passing, while Ali Zaidi, the leader of the PTI, too conveyed his sorrow for Shariff’s passing.
Sharif’s passing was seen as a loss for Pakistan’s journalism and by President Dr. Arif Alvi.
May his followers and his family find the strength to deal with this loss, Alvi said. “May his soul rest in peace,” he added.
The prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, expressed his profound sadness. He sent prayers and condolences to the journalist’s family.
