By HARRIET MUGO
A senior Pakistan journalist ,Arshad Sharriff,was shot dead on Sunday night on the Nairobi-Magadi highway in what police described as mistaken identity.
Arshad Sharif was shot in the head and killed by the police after he and his driver allegedly violated a roadblock that had been set up to check vehicles using the road.
“They were driving from Magadi town to Nairobi when they were asked to stop at a roadblock with a group of police officers,” the police said.
Police said the Independent Police Oversight Authority will oversee the case.
A senior police officer confirmed the shooting and added that detailed information will be released later.
“We had a shooting incident that turned out to be a case of mistaken identity involving a journalist. We will provide more information later,” the officer said.
According to the police, in that roadblock, there was a call for the police to stop the same car they were driving following the kidnapping incident in Pangani, Nairobi where a child was kidnapped.
And a few minutes later, Sharif’s car appeared at the roadblock and they were stopped and asked to identify themselves. It is alleged that they failed to stop and passed the road block.
This led to a brief chase and shootout that left Sharif behind. Their car overturned and its driver was injured and taken to the hospital.
He later told the police that he and his slain colleague were manufacturers and were on their way to Magadi area.
News of the incident spread rapidly in Pakistan where the journalist was famous.
Sharif’s wife, Javeria Siddiqui, used Twitter to confirm the sad news, admitting that her husband was killed in Kenya.
“I lost my friend, husband and beloved journalist [Arshad Sharif] today, as per the police he was shot in Kenya,” he wrote on Twitter.
He also asked the media and the public not to share their family photos, personal details, and last photos of Sharif from the hospital on social media.
