Influential Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif dies after being shot by police in Kenya

Oct. 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif died this Sunday after being shot by Kenyan security forces while traveling from the town of Magadi to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

“There was an incident with a shooting that turned out to be a mistake when identifying a journalist. We will give more information later,” a police officer told the newspaper ‘The Star’ on Monday.

The information has been confirmed by Javeria Siddique, his wife, who has said she has lost “a friend, a husband and her favorite journalist”. “Sharif was shot by the Kenya Police. I ask for respect for our privacy. Please do not spread family photos or personal details,” she has asked in a message posted on Twitter.

Preliminary information suggested that he had died as a result of an accident, although the authorities were gathering details about the incident. However, police have now indicated that Sharif was shot in the head by an officer after he and the driver of the vehicle he was traveling in skipped a police checkpoint.

The control had been arranged precisely to stop a car similar to the one used by the journalist and his companion after the alleged kidnapping of a child in Nairobi. Sources close to the matter have asserted that the vehicle was stopped to facilitate the identification of the passengers, although the driver continued forward without stopping, which led to a brief chase and a shootout.

The driver, meanwhile, has been injured and is admitted to a hospital in the area.