Kenya Editors Guild calls for speedy probe into Arshad's murder

The Kenya Editors' Guild (KEG) has urged the government to speed up the investigation into the killing of a Pakistani journalist, Arshad Mohammed Sharif.

KEG said those responsible for the action should be held accountable.

"This would not only demonstrate Kenya’s and the Government’s ability to protect its citizens and visitors but also assure Kenyans and the international community that Kenya is safe for everyone, including journalists whose rights it should protect," president of the Kenya Editors’ Guild Churchill Otieno said in a statement.

Otieno has called upon the government to quickly and thoroughly investigate the case to determine the cause and reason of the killing and bring those responsible to book.

In a Monday statement, the Guild also sent its condolences to Sharif's family and friends.

Sharif was shot dead on Sunday at a roadblock along the Nairobi-Magadi highway in Kajiado County.

Police said the journalist was shot in the head, in what was termed as mistaken identity, after his driver failed to stop at a random roadblock.

According to police, at the roadblock, there was a call for police to intercept a car similar to the one driving Sharif, following a carjacking incident in Pangani, Nairobi where a child was taken, hostage.

A few minutes after the alert, the journalist's car emerged at the roadblock, and they were stopped and asked to identify themselves.

They allegedly failed to stop and drove past the roadblock.

This prompted a brief chase and shooting that left Sharif dead. Their car rolled and his driver was injured and taken to hospital.

He later told police he and his slain colleague were developers and were headed for a site in Magadi.

The case is now under the scrutiny of the Independent Policing Oversight Authority.