- Sharif was shot dead at a roadblock in Kiajiado on Sunday, October 23, 2022 in what police said was a case of mistaken identity.
- On July 8 this year, the High Court in Kajiado ruled Sharif’s death “unlawful and unconstitutional” and ordered government to compensate his family Sh10m.
Image: FACEBOOK/ARSHAD SHARIF
A UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression has called for full accountability from the Kenyan government following the shooting to death of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif two years ago.
Sharif was shot dead at a roadblock in Kiajiado on Sunday, October 23, 2022, in what police said was a case of mistaken identity.
On July 8 this year, the High Court in Kajiado ruled that the use of lethal force in Sharif’s death was “unlawful and unconstitutional” and ordered the Kenyan government to compensate his family with Sh10 million.
The court approved the state's request to delay the compensation decision for 30 days to allow them time to appeal the judgment but directed that police conclude their investigations.
"Take responsible actions, including to punish and prosecute police officers who killed Arshad Sharif, if found culpable," Justice Stella Mutuku said.
UN Special Rapporteur, Irene Khan, said in a statement that despite the landmark court ruling, none of the police officers linked to the shooting have been arrested two years after the fatal shooting.
She further regretted that no prosecutory processes have been initiated for the killing described by the court as “unlawful”, “arbitrary” and “disproportionate”.
“I’m deeply concerned that neither the Kenyan authorities nor the Pakistani government have stepped up their efforts to fully investigate the case,” Khan said.
Khan revealed that a state-sponsored Pakistani special fact-finding team concluded in December 2022 that Sharif’s death resulted from a planned and targeted assassination by transnational actors.
The UN record-keeper said the journalist had previously fled his motherland after receiving death threats and to avoid arrest on charges of maligning Pakistan’s national institutions after he criticised the country's powerful military.
His killing sparked anger in Pakistan and there were allegations that the Pakistani military had a hand in the murder.
In October 2023, a year after Sharif’s killing, UN experts wrote to Kenyan and Pakistani authorities demanding full investigations into the killing and the charges that led to his exile, respectively.
Khan said that earlier in February 2023, a Pakistani Joint Investigative Team established by Pakistan’s Supreme Court reported to State officials that Kenyan authorities had denied them access to evidence and the crime scene, effectively halting their investigation.
In her statement, Khan called on the Kenyan and Pakistani governments to show political will and ensure full accountability, and bring to justice all those responsible for Sharif’s murder.
The Special Rapporteur said this will serve as a reference in the fight against impunity for the killing of journalists.
“Justice for Sharif and his family will not be done until the circumstances behind this murder are fully clarified, including whether it was a transnational crime and all responsible actors are identified, prosecuted, and punished in Kenya and Pakistan,” Khan said.