The Kenyan government has been ordered to pay ksh 10 million to the family of Pakistani TV journalist Arshad Sharif, who was mysteriously murdered in Kenya in 2022.
High Court Judge Stella Mutuku found that Sharif's murder was unlawful and violated his right to life and safety.
Sharif's family, led by his wife Javeria Siddique, sued the government for their loved one's death, claiming he had the right to be protected and was wrongly assassinated.
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However, the state requested that the verdict be suspended for at least 30 days to launch an appeal, which the court approved.
Sharif, who had fled Pakistan fearing threats on his life, was shot dead by Kenyan police in Nairobi on October 23, 2022.
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A two-member fact-finding committee formed by the Pakistani government to investigate the death stated it discovered various anomalies in the account presented by Kenyan officials and concluded it was a case of pre-planned murder.
The crew flew to Kenya to conduct interviews, inspect and rebuild the crime scene, and investigate the deceased's phones and computers.
"Both the members of the (fact-finding team) have a considered understanding that it is a case of planned targeted assassination with transnational characters rather than a case of mistaken identity," said the report, copies of which were submitted to Pakistan's Supreme Court.
"It is more probable that the firing was done, after taking proper aim, at a stationary vehicle," it said.
Kenyan officials declined to comment on the details of the story.
"The investigation into the matter is still ongoing, so there is not much I can tell," said Kenya National Police Service spokesperson Resila Onyango.
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Sharif fled Pakistan, alleging threats to his life after the government filed numerous treason charges against him.
One of the treason charges resulted from Sharif's reporting, which led to accusations that he propagated a call from a previous government official, led by former cricket star Imran Khan, for armed services personnel to revolt.
Sharif and a prior government official denied instigating an uprising.
