The Kajiado High Court on Monday ruled that the killing of Pakistani journalist Arshad Shariff by Kenyan police officers was unconstitutional.

The court found that Kenya had violated Shariff’s fundamental rights to life, dignity and protection from torture and cruel and degrading treatment.

Shariff was reportedly executed by police officers on October 23, 2022.

The court awarded the plaintiff, representing Shariff’s family, damages of 10 million Kenyan shillings, with interest calculated until full payment is made.

In addition to the damages, the court also criticised the Office of Public Prosecution (ODPP) and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) for not prosecuting the two police officers involved in Shariff’s execution.

The court ruled that both the ODPP and the IPOA had violated Shariff’s rights by failing to hold responsible officials accountable.

The court ordered the ODPP and IPOA to complete their investigation as soon as possible and charge the two officers involved in the execution.

Sharif was killed in Kajiado, Kenya, when local police reportedly shot at the car he was driving after the vehicle stopped at a roadblock.

In October 2023, Javeria Siddique, the widow of murdered journalist Arshad Sharif, filed a lawsuit against the Kenyan police after her husband was allegedly killed within the country’s borders.

Siddique filed the lawsuit in a Nairobi court, suing the General Service Unit (GSU), blaming the GSU for her husband’s death.

In her lawsuit, Siddique demanded that the court compel Attorney General Justin Muturi, the National Police and Director of Public Prosecutions (OM) Renson Ingonga to punish and prosecute the police officers involved in the killing.

Siddique also wanted the court to direct the attorney general to publicly apologize and accept responsibility for her husband’s murder within seven days of the court’s order.

“I am suing the GSU because they committed the crime openly and then admitted it was a case of mistaken identity. But for me it was a targeted killing because he was hiding in Kenya after receiving threats in Pakistan,” Siddique told the AP.

The widow stated that the Kenyan government never apologized and made no attempt to contact the family in any way.