Some high-profile murders committed in Kenya

LAHORE: Slain Pakistani journalist, Arshad Sharif, adds to the list of high-profile murders in Kenya.

In its October 25, 2022 edition, a South African daily newspaper ‘The Citizen’, wrote: “Kenya has over the years featured in international news because of the high-profile murders. The killing of Arshad Sharif comes hot on the heels of the deepening mystery surrounding the disappearance of two Indian nationals – Zulfiqar Ahmad Khan and Mohamed Zaid Sami Kidwai – who were kidnapped in Nairobi and whose whereabouts have not been known since July this year.”

The Johannesburg-based media house further reveals: “The disappearance of the two Indians has been blamed on the disbanded crack police squad known as the Special Service Unit. The two were reported to have arrived in Kenya in April to join President William Ruto’s digital campaign team. They went missing on July 25 after they were abducted outside Ole Sereni Hotel at Mombasa Road. Mr Khan, a former “Balaji Telefilms” chief operating officer, and his friend went missing alongside a Kenyan taxi driver.”

The South African newspaper further said: “The list of high-profile mystery deaths in Kenya also includes that of Julie Ward in September 1988. Ms Ward, a publishing assistant, disappeared on September 7, 1988 from her campsite at the Masai Mara game reserve.

A week later, her charred and mutilated remains were found at Makari area in the reserve. Ms Ward had left Suffolk, UK, for a seven-month trip to Kenya. Although she had been raped and hacked to death, and her body doused in petrol and burned, the Kenyan authorities refused to conduct an inquiry. Initially, they insisted that she had either committed suicide or been killed by wild animals, but the court ruled in October 1989 that Ms Ward was murdered.”

Research shows that on August 23, 2000, Father John Anthony Kaiser, was shot in the back of the head with a shotgun. A butcher found his body the next day. The American Mill Hill missionary priest had had several run-ins with the government since the 1992 elections.

In 1999, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, was allegedly captured at the airport by Turkish officials as he planned to leave Kenya on a private jet for the Netherlands with his bodyguards. He Turkey’s most wanted man and had been staying at the Greek Embassy in Nairobi for a while.

Then, in June 2021, a Dutch businessman, Herman Rouwenhorst, was found murdered in his apartment in Mombasa after an alleged kidnapping.

‘The Citizen’ had reported: “Herman, who owned multiple nightclubs in Kenyan cities, had moved to this country six years ago to be with his girlfriend. He was found dead in his bed with his hands and feet tied and his mouth gagged. An injured bodyguard found at the residence later succumbed to his wounds. In August 2017, the bodies of a Swiss couple were found dumped by the roadside in Mombasa with their bodies wrapped in a blanket. The bodies had severe injuries. One had deep cuts on the head.” Archival research shows that while the number of murders recorded in 2020 was 3,111, the homicide rate had rested at around 5 per 100,000 people.