The circumstances surrounding the death of well known Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif still remain mysterious after police came up with conflicting reports.
Initially as reported by the Daily Nation, a report made at the Magadi Police Station using OB number 14/23/10/2022 said that the occupants of the Toyota Land Cruiser defied orders to stop at the roadblock in Kamukuru, prompting the officers to shoot at it.
However, the police now have a different version of the events that followed the arrival of the car that the journalist and his friend were using at the roadblock. On Tuesday, the police claimed that the occupants of the car shot at the GSU officers when they were stopped, injuring one of them. Consequently, the GSU officers were forced to shoot back.
“He was challenged to stop but he defied and opened fire at our officers, which triggered them to respond to the said vehicle as it sped towards the Nairobi direction.” Said the police on what led them to shoot Arshad Sharif’s car.
In the meantime, the Independent Police Oversight Authority demanded to be furnished with the identities of the police officers who were manning the roadblock including the guns they were using in a bid to establish who exactly fired at the car.
The Daily Nation has further reported that the officers who were questioned on Monday are expected to go through another round of questioning today as the Internal Affairs Unit also gets involved.
Prior to being shot in Kenya where he was in exile, Arshad Sharif was a harsh critic of the Pakistani government led by Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who took over power in April, following the ouster of his predecessor Hon Imran Khan.
Thus, he fled Pakistan in August citing threats to his life which he attributed to the stories he published criticizing the new government.
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