Fresh twist as police now claim murdered Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, his driver shot at them

Kenya police now claim that occupants in slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif's car had fired at them, injuring one GSU officer, before they shot back and killed him instantly.

The latest claims are conspicuously missing from the police report dated October 23, 2022 issued by the National Police Spokesperson Bruno Shioso, who said that Sharif was killed in a case of mistaken identity.

The unresolved questions over the mysterious murder of the journalist led Citizen TV to Esonorua and Tinga villages in Kajiado North.

It is at these two shopping centres where the vehicle ferrying Sharif from Kwenia camp passed moments after he was allegedly shot dead at a road block manned by GSU officers in Kamukuru area.

Residents said they received a report from the area Assistant Chief that a Mercedes Benz sprinter registration number plate KDJ 700F allegedly stolen from Pangani area had made it's way to the area and that security officers had requested that they erect road blocks to stop the thieves.

Two road blocks were erected in Esonorua and Tinga before residents received reports that the vehicle had passed a GSU road block without stopping.

But despite keeping a safe distance where they could spot the vehicle passing, the residents were shocked when the vehicle which was on the move despite a tyre burst on the driver's side passed because it was a different model from the one they had a brief on.

The vehicle made its way to Kwenia camp's owner’s second farm in Tinga area where they stopped outside the gate.

Residents say Sharif, who was seated on the passenger seat, was dead with a gunshot wound on the head while the driver Ahmed was unharmed.

Police officers from Kiserian Police Station arrived 30 minutes later and collected the body of the deceased.

Gloves used during the removal of Sharif's body from the car to the police van were dumped right outside the farm's gate.

A report from the police Magadi field campus dated October 23 has however raised more questions than answers after it claimed that occupants in Sharif's car had fired at police officers manning the road block in Kamukuru when they challenged them to stop.

The officers claimed they opened fire after one of the GSU officers was injured when the occupants of the car shot at them.

It is during the shoot-out that the police claim Sharif was killed and one of the vehicle's tyres shot in a bid to stop them. The driver drove for 20 kilometres before stopping.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has sent a team of top security officials to ascertain the circumstances under which the journalist was killed.

The team, led by Arthar Waheed (Director of Federal Investigation Agency) and Omar Shahid Hamid (the Deputy Director of Intelligence Bureau) is expected to submit a report on its findings to Pakistan Interior Ministry.