In a legal move, Javeria Siddique, the widow of the late investigative journalist Arshad Sharif, has filed a lawsuit against the Kenyan Police. This action follows the murder of her husband in October 2022, which she attributes to Kenyan police officers.
Siddique has taken her case to a Nairobi Court, specifically suing the General Service Unit (GSU) for what she perceives as the wrongful death of her husband.
In her lawsuit, Siddique is seeking the court’s intervention to compel Attorney General Justin Muturi, the National Police Service, and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga to hold the responsible police officers accountable through punishment and prosecution.
Furthermore, Siddique has requested the court to direct the Attorney General to issue a public apology and acknowledge responsibility for her husband’s murder within a seven-day period, following the court’s orders.
Siddique has expressed her reasons for suing the GSU, explaining, “I am suing the GSU because they committed the crime openly, then admitted that it was a case of mistaken identity. But for me, it was a targeted assassination because he was living in hiding in Kenya after receiving threats in Pakistan,” as reported by AP.
The widow has further highlighted the Kenyan government’s lack of communication and empathy, stating, “They never contacted us, they never showed any kind of kindness toward us. It is really cruel for a government to be so insensitive.”
Arshad Sharif, known for his critical reporting on the Pakistani military, tragically lost his life in Kajiado, Kenya, at a roadblock along the Nairobi-Magadi Highway on October 23, 2022. This occurred nearly two months after he had left Pakistan to seek refuge in Kenya.
The journalist’s murder gained national attention in Pakistan, prompting a response from the Kenyan Police. At the time, the National Police Service asserted that the killing was a result of mistaken identity.
However, independent Pakistani investigators have since discredited the NPS’s account as misleading. They point out that the journalist was fatally shot in the head by General Service Unit (GSU) officers while allegedly breaching a roadblock set up for vehicle inspections along the route.
Notably, this legal action comes shortly after Caretaker Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar engaged with President William Ruto to seek clarity regarding the murder of the esteemed journalist. During their meeting on the sidelines of the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, China, the Prime Minister encouraged President Ruto to expedite investigations into this high-profile case.
