Kenyan authorities answerable for Arshad Sharif’s killing, says wife

The body of slain journalist is expected to arrive in Pakistan late Tuesday

Javeria Siddique, wife of slain journalist Arshad Sharif, has held Kenyan authorities responsible for her husband’s mysterious killing in the East African country.

The well-known journalist was shot dead in Nairobi when police hunting car thieves opened fire on the vehicle he was travelling in as it drove through their roadblock without stopping, according to a Kenyan police report on Monday.

A Kenyan police watchdog has said it is investigating the incident, which happened at 10 pm (1900 GMT) on Sunday on the outskirts of the capital.

The circumstances of Sharif's death sparked widespread outrage in Pakistan and calls for an investigation.

“My husband Arshad Sharif coming back to home in coffin. Authorities in Kenya are answerable to us,” the wife of victim wrote on her official Twitter handle.

My husband @arsched coming back to home in coffin.
Authorities in Kenya are answerable to us.#JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/aDXdG16EhR

— Javeria Siddique (@javerias) October 25, 2022

The dead body of slain journalist is expected to arrive in Pakistan late Tuesday (today) while his burial will take place on Thursday.

Several local and international journalists, including Kenyan media persons, and relevant personalities have raised questions about the Kenyan police's claims surrounding senior Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif's killing in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

"Kenya's mainstream media," he said while sharing the front page of one of the country's largest newspapers, was not "buying what the Kenyan government is saying about the murder of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif".

Kenya’s mainstream media isn’t buying what the Kenyan government is saying about the murder of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif. pic.twitter.com/aDzt4Nn746

— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) October 25, 2022

The same frontpage was also shared by the veteran journalist Baker Atyani, observing that the local media reports "cast doubts on the police version of Arshad Sharif's killing".

Front page of The Standard, one of the largest newspapers in Kenya, casts doubts on the police version of Arshad Sharif's killing.#ArshadSharif pic.twitter.com/ixUSThU8zm

— Baker Atyani (@atyanibaker) October 24, 2022