A Pakistani man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting the administrator of a community WhatsApp group who removed him from the chat, police said Saturday.
Mushtaq Ahmed was shot dead on Thursday evening in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province that borders Afghanistan, which has a history of bloody sectarian violence.
A man named only as Ashfaq has been charged with his murder, according to police documents seen by AFP and a local police official.
Mushtaq allegedly kicked Ashfaq out of the WhatsApp group following an argument, according to a statement by Mushtaq’s brother seen by AFP.
He said that both parties had arranged to meet and reconcile but alleges that Ashfaq turned up with a gun and opened fire, killing his brother.
Ashfaq was angry “in reaction to removal from WhatsApp group,” according to his statement.
The availability of firearms, the influence of tribal customs, and sometimes weak law enforcement contribute to the frequency of such incidents.
A similar incident occurred in 2023, though not extreme as the Pakistan’s case. Herbert Baitwababo, a Ugandan, filed a lawsuit after being removed from WhatsApp group.
It was discovered that everyone left the space and formed a new one without Herbert soon after he was re-included in the group. And this reportedly made the man go back to court.
Mzilikazi wa Afrika, an investigative journalist hailing from Mpumalanga, South Africa, tweeted a video of Baitwababo, talking to local media about the incident.
Mzilikazi tweeted: “This Guy was removed from a WhatsApp group, he went and got a court order to be added back. They added him back and made him administrator then one by one left the group and created a new one. He is now heading back to court to get the members back on his WhatsApp group like the beginning.”
According to the court order by the Chief Magistrates’ Court of Makindye, that Mzilikazi also shared on Twitter, the name of the concerned WhatsApp group was “Buyanja My Roots”.
The Free Press Journal reported that the WhatsApp group was reportedly established to support residents of the Buyanja sub-county in the Rukungiri district of Uganda by donating to charities, expressing sympathy, and offering support. Members like Herbert and others registered and paid for membership.
Herbert’s inquiries into specifics, such as the management and audit of the group since its founding in 2017, did not go well. It was discovered that the response was impolite because, on May 20, 2023, admin Asinguza removed him from the group.
They later pointed out that such actions violate the person’s rights and freedom of association as he approached the court.
