Social media influencer Francis Gaitho has been charged with publication of false information concerning the arrests made by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) with regards to the Mukuru Kwa Njenga dumpsite mystery.
According to the court, the influencer had published that the DCI arrested the wrong person as the prime suspect in the Kware killings. He went ahead and published the names he deemed right.
In the accusation, the court while giving the charges on Thursday, said that on the 15th day of July 2024 at an unknown place using the X (Twitter) account, Gaitho intentionally published false information that was conflicting reports published by the DCI.
The influencer had initially released the photos of an innocent Kenyan over the Kware killings that he linked with the bodies found at the Kware dumpsite.
However, the court established that there were no public records of such names published by the influencer in social media.
The court further clarified that the images used were of a graduate from the Meru University of Science and Technology. This had damaged the reputation of the student.
Gaitho was also charged with a second count of breaching the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, he intentionally published false information about a Kenyan by the name of Okundi, attaching the caption with the photos of the prime suspect Collins Jumaisi.
In the publication, Gaitho also linked the mentioned name with the bodies found at the dump site. The court, however, also established that there were no public records of such a name.
In the publications, the names attached to the images were conflicting and un-rhyming, most of the names were not on public records.
He denied the charges before Milimani senior principal magistrate Robinson Ondieki and pleaded for lenient bond terms.
The DPP, however, asked the court to have Gaitho deposit his passport in court.
He was released on a cash bail of Sh30,000. The case will be mentioned on August 1.
