IPOA deploys rapid response team after shooting of Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif

Kenya's policing authority has deployed a rapid response team to Kajiado County following the shooting death of renowned Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif.

At a press briefing in Nairobi Monday morning, the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa) said it was looking into the matter.

“Ipoa has sent a quick response team to Kajiado where a Pakistan national was allegedly murdered by police officers in Kajiado West Sub County,” she said.

Mr Sharif was reportedly shot dead at a road block manned by police officers on Sunday night under unclear circumstances. 

Early reports indicate that Mr Sharif was travelling back to Nairobi from Magadi with his driver when he met his death at a police road block. The car had been flagged down by officers, though the police are yet to officially comment on the matter.

His driver was reportedly injured and taken to hospital.

The news of his demise was first announced on social media by his wife Javeria Siddique, leading to a speculation frenzy as Pakistani netizens tried to make sense of his death. 

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered his condolences to the journalist’s family.

Details on the circumstances surrounding his death remain scanty. The High Commission for Pakistan in Nairobi is yet to release any official communication on his death. 

The award-winning journalist was vocally opposed to the ongoing political developments in Pakistan. Sharif specialized in investigative journalism and covered many political events in his country for national and international news organizations.

Sharif, a fierce critic of the Pakistani government, had left the country earlier this year after a series of sedition cases were filed against him. 

The journalism fraternity in Pakistan is demanding an investigation into his death. 

He was reportedly in Kenya for work. 

His body is lying at Chiromo Mortuary in Nairobi.