Kenyan High court declares Arshad Sharif’s murder unconstitutional, pre-planned

Nairobi: The High Court in Kenya’s Kajiado on Monday awarded 10 million Kenyan shillings to the family of slain journalist Arshad Sharif, who was 'mistakenly' shot and killed by Kenyan police officers in October 2022.

Arshad Sharif, a senior journalist, was shot dead in Nairobi on October 23 while living in self-exile.

The official police statement later expressed "regrets on the unfortunate incident."

Delivering her judgment, Justice Stella Mutuku ruled that the use of lethal force against Arshad Sharif by shooting him in the head was unlawful and unconstitutional as well as pre-planned.

Sharif's wife, Javeria Siddique, through her lawyer, Advocate Dudley Ochiel, requested the court to order the Attorney General, Director of Public Prosecutions, Inspector General of Police, Independent Policing Oversight Authority, and the National Police Service Commission to provide her with copies of all documents, evidence, films, photographs, and video recordings related to Sharif’s shooting.

“By shooting the deceased in the circumstances described in this case and which shooting has been admitted save for the allegation that it was mistaken identity, the respondents violated the rights of the deceased,” the judge said in an order.

Earlier, Kenyan investigative journalist Brian Obuya raised concerns over the delay in the probe findings into the senior journalist's murder case. Obuya noted that investigators have taken a considerable amount of time to complete the probe into Sharif's death.