New details have emerged regarding the car that was initially reported stolen, prompting the fatal shooting of Pakistani journalist Ashraf Sharif.
The alleged stolen vehicle that police were pursuing is a Mercedes Benz Sprinter van registration number KDJ 700F while the one the Pakistani journalist was travelling in is a Toyota Landcruiser V8 registration number KDJ 200M.
On Sunday, October 23, a man identified as Douglas Wainaina told detectives at Pangani Police Station that he had left his car at a parking lot in the Ngara with his son inside, but upon returning to where he had left the vehicle, he could not find it.
According to police, after tracking the vehicle they found that it was within the Kiserian area in Kajiado County prompting them to alert their counterparts in the area.
The head of the Magadi General Service Unit training camp was alerted and asked to lay a roadblock to stop the car in case it moved in that direction.
The man on the steering wheel was Wainaina’s 26-year-old son identified as Duncan and who had apparently argued with his father earlier on.
He was found by police at a petrol station in Kiserian.
Upon being questioned, he told police he decided to drive off with the car out of anger and after arguing with his father over unclear reasons.
By then, the operation to search for him was ongoing.
On Tuesday, the son was presented in court for driving without a license, but his father who was the complainant through, lawyer Elisha Ndemo, withdrew the case.
Police say the matter is still under investigation and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority has joined the probe.
It was as the police waited for a car similar to the Mercedes Benz that had been reported missing or stolen when the one carrying Sharif emerged at a roadblock.
The GSU officers say they were alerted by locals that the car they were looking for was speeding towards their direction.
According to the officers, when Sharif’s car arrived at the barrier erected using stones, the driver refused to stop and one of the officers was shot at from the vehicle's direction and injured in the left palm.
In what police termed a case of mistaken identity, the GSU officers fired nine bullets at the Toyota Landcruiser in which the journalist was travelling in alongside his driver.
It has also emerged that his driver at the time of the incident, Khurram Ahmed, is a brother to the owner of a shooting range in the area, Waqar Ahmed.
Sharif had been at the Ammodump Kwenia Shooting Range for the better part of Sunday, October 23.
Khurram called his brother after the shooting and informed him of the incident before he instructed him to drive with him to Tinga shopping centre for attention.
By the time he reached near their gate, Sharif had bled to death. Police arrived there later and searched the car for weapons in vain. They later moved the body to the mortuary.
The body was flown to Pakistan and arrived Wednesday morning.
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