Nairobi: Lawyers want Ruto to give evidence in the case of fake funeral at X

• The trial of a university student accused of publishing fake news about President William Ruto was announced before the full trial was announced on Wednesday, December 4, 2024
• At the time of the mention, the defense lawyers wanted to know if the president will be among those who will testify
• A Moi University student, David Mokaya, is accused of posting on his X handle a photo imitating the president's funeral procession

Nairobi: Lawyers representing a university student accused of publishing false information about the President William Ruto now they want to know if he (Ruto) will be among the witnesses in the case.

David Mokaya, a Fourth Year student at Moi University, is facing charges related to his post on X about the funeral procession he proposed for the president.

Will William Ruto be a witness in the Mokaya case?

During the mention of the case before the hearing of the case on Wednesday, December 4, the lawyers Danstan OmariIan Mutiso and the Local Lawyers Association (LSK) demanded to know if President Ruto would testify.

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They also asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to review the charges against their client.

“LSK, which has been representing this young man, has asked if the President will go to the dock to confirm if he is alive or if he was the one in the coffin. We will be asking him to testify,” Omar said.

The case is before the Chief Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi.

According to Ian Mutiso, the lawyer representing the student and LSKthe prosecution has not yet given the list of witnesses it intends to rely on in the case.

Statements of witnesses are also alleged not to have been given to them.

“If you read the indictment quickly, you will find that the offense mentioned there refers to a post published on X's social network about the coffin procession related to the president. Our concern is that we do not have the information of the president's witnesses,” Mutiso told the court.

The lawyers further accused the government of trying to silence Kenyans who criticize political leaders.

Omari also indicated that he wanted a re-examination of the decision to arrest and prosecute the university student due to his social network post.

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The judge did not rule on the issues raised by the defense attorneys. He said the court will wait for the DPP's opinion on the matter before issuing other instructions.

The case will be mentioned on January 28, 2025.

What charges are facing David Mokaya?

Earlier, TUKO.co.ke reported that on Monday, November 18, Mokaya was brought before Magistrate Ekhumbi, where he was charged with misuse of computer and cyber crime.

Mokaya was accused of publishing false news by publishing a photo of a funeral procession with a coffin draped in the Kenyan flag escorted by military officers in ceremonial uniform.

According to the charge, Mokaya is alleged to have shared the photo on his X account and captioned it to show President Ruto's body being transported.

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Source: TUKO.co.ke