IN a significant development, the General Service Unit (GSU) of the Kenyan police is now facing trial on charges of wrongful death in the case of Arshad Sharif, a Pakistani journalist who met his tragic end in Nairobi last year.
The case commenced at the Kajiado High Court on the outskirts of Nairobi on Tuesday, with the petitioners alleging that Sharif’s death was not a tragic mistake but a carefully orchestrated assassination plot hatched in Pakistan.
Arshad Sharif, a vocal critic of Pakistan’s powerful military leadership, was fatally shot in October 2022 while traveling in a car with another Pakistani national. The incident occurred when their vehicle passed through a checkpoint on the outskirts of the Kenyan capital, and police officers opened fire. Initially, Nairobi police expressed remorse over the shooting, citing it as a regrettable case of ‘mistaken identity’ during a search for a vehicle linked to a child abduction case.
However, a team of Pakistani investigators later refuted this explanation, asserting that Sharif’s killing was, in fact, a ‘planned assassination.’ In response, Sharif’s widow, Javeria Siddique, took legal action against the Kenyan police unit, known as the General Service Unit (GSU), which was involved in the fatal shooting.
While Kenyan authorities claim that Sharif did not halt at a roadblock on the outskirts of Nairobi, his family and Pakistani investigators vehemently disagree, contending that Sharif’s death was a meticulously premeditated act that originated in Pakistan.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Siddique stated, ‘I am suing the GSU because they committed the crime openly. For me, it was a targeted assassination because he was living in hiding in Kenya after receiving threats in Pakistan.’
The 50-year-old Sharif had fled Pakistan earlier that year to evade arrest on charges related to maligning the country’s national institutions. This term is commonly used for individuals who critique Pakistan’s military establishment, which has held a significant role in the nation’s history for half of its 75-year existence.
Alongside Siddique, the Kenya Union of Journalists and the Kenya Correspondents have joined as joint petitioners in the case. Their submissions to the court accuse Kenyan authorities of ‘failing to prosecute officers involved in the wrongful death of Arshad’ and
demand a ‘public apology to the family of Sharif.’
A statement issued by the union of journalists reads, ‘It has taken us some time to go to court because we thought investigations would be carried out, and the officer who pulled the trigger would be prosecuted. Nothing has transpired thus far, justifying our decision to seek legal recourse.’
Notably, in Islamabad, two Kenyan-based Pakistani businessmen, who had hosted Sharif during his stay in East Africa, are facing charges related to their involvement in his killing. This high-profile case has garnered international attention and condemnation from human rights organisations, further intensifying the spotlight on the trial.
