ISLAMABAD: The killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was a case of “mistaken identity” and there was no murder planning involved, according to the embargoed official Kenyan government investigation report reported by local media on Tuesday.
According to a trusted Kenyan government source who has read the report in full, Arshad Sharif was killed by four paramilitary General Service Unit (GSU) members in a random shootout because his driver Khurram Ahmed did not stop at the roadblock.
Guards shot at Arshad Sharif’s vehicle
The journalist was going to Central Nairobi from Waqar Ahmed’s hilly and remote AmmoDump shooting range, where he secretly lived in Waqar Ahmed’s penthouse. The Kenyan report sticks to the police version that the four guards were looking for a fleeing vehicle and shot at Arshad Sharif’s car when Khurram Ahmed jumped the police roadblocks. According to a reliable source citing the report, the four GSU officers who fired bullets at Arshad Sharif’s vehicle were not drunk.
However, the detailed official report rejects the police’s original version. The GSU officers initially reported that shots were fired from inside Arshad’s Landcruiser towards the police officers, and the police responded by firing back. According to the report, which contains new details that have not been made public, no shots were fired from inside Arshad Sharif’s vehicle.
It confirms that one of the four police officers was injured in the hand, but he was hit by a bullet fired by another officer who was shot in the direction of Arshad’s vehicle on October 23, 2022.
According to the official report, two of the four GSU officers were involved in using excessive force by opening fire recklessly and should thus be prosecuted.
According to Kenya’s Penal Code, anyone involved in the excessive use of force faces life in prison. It is understood that the recommendations have been forwarded to Kenya’s prosecution service, but no decision on the prosecution and charges has yet been made. According to the official report, Arshad Sharif was not tortured before or after his murder.
Waqar Ahmed’s brother Khurram Ahmed, Arshad Sharif’s driver and companion, was not injured in the attack. He claims he drove Arshad Sharif, who was in critical condition and bleeding, to his brother’s organic farm, which is about 25 kilometres from the shooting location.
The Kenyan government immediately announced the launch of an investigation and promised to make its findings public within days of his death.
The chairperson of Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) has stated that Arshad Sharif’s death at the hands of Kenyan police is being thoroughly investigated in order to establish the facts surrounding the shooting, and that a “full and thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting” will be completed soon.
However, neither the Kenyan government nor the IPOA have released the findings of their investigation after five months. According to the source, the Kenyan government completed its investigation more than two months ago, but the report was not made public, though it was seen by a few senior Kenyan government officials.
The embargoed report almost verbatim agrees with the original police version, which denied any murder planning or being part of a murder conspiracy from the start, relying on the “mistaken identity” position.
According to police, Sharif was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity after businessman Douglas Wainaina Kamau, who has a base in Nairobi, reported that his vehicle, a Mercedes Benz Sprinter with the registration number KDJ 700F, had been stolen. Douglas had reported his vehicle stolen to Pangani Police Station on the evening of October 23.
Douglas had spent three days with his son in Mombasa, Kenya’s coastal region, before traveling to Nairobi. Douglas said he wanted to repair his vehicle while in Nairobi, and they agreed to stay for a while.
They went to see family members on October 23. The son visited his wife Joy Gudi, who lives with his aunt, while the father visited his brothers and sister in Kijabe. Dancan later joined his father in Kijabe, according to the report by investigating officer corporal Godfrey Munene, and they drove back to Nairobi together, Dancan being the driver.
“Wainaina went to the Ngara area around 6.30 p.m. to buy electric cables, and he told his son to park the vehicle off the street and wait for him.” “He returned after ten minutes but couldn’t see the son or the vehicle,” according to the police report. Douglas attempted to contact his son, but he did not respond to phone calls, prompting him to hop on a motorbike and ride around the neighborhood, hoping to find him.
Douglas called Dancan again, but the phone was not answered, and he suspected that his son had been kidnapped and was in the company of criminals. He reported a case of abduction/theft of a motor vehicle at Pangani Police Station at 7.20 p.m., vide police Occurrence Book no.70/23/10/2022,” according to the police report.
The investigating officer, Godfrey Munene, then went ahead and alerted the seniormost officer at the Magadi General Service Unit (GSU) training college in Kajiado County. Junior officers were then instructed to remain vigilant and set up a roadblock in order to stop the vehicle, which had been tracked down to the Olepolos area of Kajiado Country.
At the same time, Sharif was planning to leave Amodump Kwenia, where he had attended a party with US soldiers, and he left with Khurram Ahmad in a Toyota Landcruiser with the registration number KDG 200M. Arshad Sharif had arrived at the camp the night before, went to bed early on the weekend night, participated in a shooting exercise at the range, and spent the early evening at the barbecue party.
They were waved down to stop as they approached the roadblock erected by the officers, but instead, Khurram drove over the roadblock made of stones. The officers began shooting at the vehicle, and a bullet struck Sharif, killing him after a few minutes as per police.
The police launched investigations through the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), but nearly five months later, no one has been arrested or charged in connection with the journalist’s death.
When conducting such investigations, the IPOA is usually present, but once completed, the officers involved in such killings are usually arrested and brought to court to answer the charges. According to an IPOA official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, “the files were handed over to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution and were returned.”
The Kenyan government report follows a strong report by two Pakistani officers — Omar Shahid Hamid and Ather Waheed — who concluded their investigations in Kenya that Arshad Sharif was killed in a planned assassination plot. The damning report named several people who may have been involved in the murder plot and blamed Kenyan police for a cover-up. Kenya’s human rights commission also told Geo News that it believed Kenya police were involved in the planned murder of Arshad Sharif, whose family, friends, and colleagues also claimed the fleeing journalist was killed in a hit.
The 49-year-old was exiled after fleeing Pakistan in August to avoid arrest on multiple charges, including sedition. Pakistani businessmen living in Kenya, Waqar, and Khurram, who hosted Sharif in the African country, have been charged with murder by Islamabad police.
Waqar Ahmed and Khurram Ahmed have denied involvement in the murder through their lawyer. Their attorney stated that Arshad’s death was a case of mistaken identity and that no foul play was involved. Waqar Ahmed claims that Tariq Wasi, the CEO of Karachi Kings, asked him to sponsor Arshad Sharif’s trip to Kenya, which he did out of courtesy.
According to the 592-page report by Pakistani officers, Kenyan police issued contradictory statements following the killing. Kenyan and Pakistani media have highlighted several inconsistencies in the original police version of the events.
Even Kenya’s embargoed official report blames the police for making false statements after Arshad’s death. Justice (retired) Shaukat Siddiqui now representing Arshad Sharif in Pakistan’s Supreme Court.
