After the death on Sunday evening of a famous Pakistani journalist, shot dead by the police some forty kilometers from Nairobi, Amnesty International is calling for an independent investigation, while several Kenyan press titles are questioning the official version.
With our correspondent in Nairobi, Florence Morice
” Is it a mistaken identity or an assassination, followed by an attempted concealment? “. The question is posed on the front page of Standard this Wednesday morning. In its columns, the Kenyan daily lists the gray areas of the explanations given by the police after Ashrad Sharif’s death.
The Pakistani journalist was shot dead by the police in Kenya, where he had taken refuge. The police refer to a ” unfortunate incident and claims his vehicle was mistaken for another reported stolen vehicle with a kidnapped child inside.
The circumstances of this drama are blurry “Said Amnesty International in a press release. The NGO calls for an independent investigation and cites several reports that eight to nine bullets were fired at the vehicle. She wonders in particular about the use of ” such lethal force while a child was supposed to be inside. The NGO also points out that the police station that reported the crime ” responsible for more than half of extrajudicial executions identified in Kenya in 2021.
It is a ” disturbing murder “, also denounces Reporters Without Borders which also calls for an international investigation by the UN. ” Especially since this journalist had just left his country to avoid harassment and arrest “, adds the NGO.