Result of mistaken identity: Kenyan govt releases report on Arshad Sharif's murder
Pakistan
the report agreed with the original Kenyan police stance
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – In the latest development in the Arshad Sharif murder case, the report released by the Kenyan authorities revealed that the deceased anchorperson was killed due to mistaken identity case.
As per the report, Arshad Sharif was killed by four members of the para-military General Service Unit (GSU) when his driver, Khurram Ahmed – Waqar Ahmed’s brother - did not stop the car at the checkpoint.
The journalist was on his way from Waqar Ahmed’s hilly and remote AmmoDump shooting range towards Central Nairobi where he lived in Waqar Ahmed’s flat.
He was going to Waqar Ahmed flat in the Central Nairobi when that fateful incident occurred.
The report confirmed the original police point of view that the four officers sprayed the car with bullets when the driver did not stop the car and is was added that the four cops were not intoxicated.
However, the report refuted the original stance of the police that firing shots were fired from inside the car. It said no shot was fired from the car and added the one officer who got injured was because of the firing of a fellow police officer.
The official report mentioned two GSU officers used excessive force by opening fire recklessly and therefore should be prosecuted. According to Kenya’s Penal Code, anyone involved in the excessive use of force could be sentenced to life. It’s understood that the recommendations have been passed to Kenya’s prosecution service but no decision has been made yet on the prosecution and charges. The official report also insists that Arshad Sharif was not tortured before or after the murder.
The chairperson of Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said that Arshad Sharif’s murder at the hands of Kenya’s police was being thoroughly investigated to establish the facts surrounding the shooting and that “full and thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting” would be determined soon.
But neither the Kenyan govt nor the IPOA released the results of their investigation in five months. The source said that the Kenya govt completed its investigation over two months ago but the report was not made public.
The report agrees almost verbatim with the original police version which had denied any murder planning or being part of a conspiracy to murder — relying on the "mistaken identity" position from the start.
According to the police, Sharif was shot dead in a pure case of mistaken identity after businessman Douglas Wainaina Kamau who has his base in Nairobi reported that his vehicle, a Mercedes Benz Sprinter of registration number KDJ 700F had been stolen.
Douglas had reported at Pangani Police Station that his vehicle was stolen on the evening of October 23. Three days before he made the report, Douglas had spent time with his son in Mombasa located in the coastal area of Kenya and they headed to Nairobi. It is while they were in Nairobi that Douglas said that he wanted to repair his vehicle as he also attended to other issues which made them agree to stay in the city for some time. On October 23, they went to visit family members. The son went to meet his wife Joy Gudi, who lives with his aunt, while the father went to meet his brothers and sister in Kijabe. According to the report by investigating officer corporal Godfrey Munene, Dancan later joined his father in Kijabe and they drove back to Nairobi together, Dancan being the driver.
“While at the Ngara area at around 6.30 pm, Wainaina sought 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 could not see the son or the vehicle,” the police report says. Douglas tried to reach out to his son but he was not responding to phone calls which made him pick a motorbike and make rounds within the vicinity with the aim of trying to trace him.
“Douglas called Dancan again but the phone was not answered and he suspected that his son was carjacked and was with criminals. He reported a case of abduction/theft of motor vehicle vide police Occurrence Book no.70/23/10/2022 at 7.20 pm at Pangani Police Station,” reads the police report. It is then that Godfrey Munene the investigating officer went ahead and alerted the senior most officer at Magadi General Service Unit (GSU) training college in Kajiado County. It was then that junior officers were asked to stay alert and erect a roadblock so that they could stop the vehicle as it had been traced to the Olepolos area in Kajiado County.
As this was happening, Sharif was also planning to leave Amodump Kwenia where he had attended a party alongside US soldiers and after a while, he left with Khurram Ahmad in a Toyota Landcruiser registration number KDG 200M. Arshad Sharif had arrived at the camp the previous evening, went to bed early on the weekend night and took part in a shooting exercise at the range and spent early evening at the barbecue party. As they approached the roadblock which had been erected by the officers, they were waved down to stop but instead, Khurram drove over the roadblock which had been erected using stones. That is when the officers started shooting at the vehicle and a bullet hit Sharif killing him after a few minutes, according to the police.
Investigations were opened by the police through the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and also the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) but nearly five months later no one has been arrested or charged in relation to the death of the journalist. IPOA is usually taken along when carrying out such investigations but once complete, the officers involved in such killings are usually arrested and brought in court to answer to the charges. An official who spoke in confidence and works at IPOA said that “the files were handed over to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution and it was returned. Everything will be put to place as we seek justice.”
The Kenya govt report comes after a strong report by two Pakistani officers — Omar Shahid Hamid and Ather Waheed — concluded after their investigations in Kenya that Arshad Sharif was killed in a planned assassination plot in Kenya. The damning report named several characters who may have played their role in the killing plot and blamed the Kenyan police for a cover-up.
Arshad Sharif was living in exile after he fled Pakistan in August to avoid arrest in the wake of multiple cases, including sedition charges. Islamabad police charged Pakistani businessmen living in Kenya — Waqar and Khurram who had hosted Sharif in the African country — with involvement in his killing.
Through their lawyer, Waqar Ahmed and Khurram Ahmed have denied any involvement in the murder. Their lawyer has said that Arshad’s killing was a case of mistaken identity and no foul play was involved. Waqar Ahmed has said that the Chief Executive Officer of Karachi Kings Tariq Wasi had asked him to sponsor Arshad Sharif’s visit to Kenya, which he arranged out of courtesy.
