A university student has been charged in court over a controversial post on X, formerly Twitter, regarding President William Ruto.
The accused posted a photo on the social media platform to suggest the body of the Head of State was being transported.
According to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the image depicted a casket with a Kenyan flag which was being transported by military officers dressed in ceremonial uniform.
Further, the suspect is accused of tweaking the date of the post to make it appear more genuine.
"The offence is said to have been committed on November 13, 2024, at an unknown location within the Republic of Kenya," a statement from the Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions said.
The suspect's alleged actions were in breach of The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act No. 5 of 2018.
According to the act, "A person who intentionally publishes false, misleading or fictitious data or misinforms with the intent that the data shall be considered or acted upon as authentic, with or without any financial gain, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding KSh5million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
While appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhumbi, the student pleaded not guilty to the charges and was granted a bond of KSh 100,000 with an alternative cash bail of KSh 50,000.
A quick spot check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed the suspect is an influential figure on X, with some of his posts openly taking aim at the Kenya Kwanza government.
The suspect was in custody for four days, before some of his colleagues came to his aid by raising the KSh 50,000 bail. The case will be mentioned again on December 4.
Several weeks ago, another influencer - Francis Gaitho - got into trouble with the law for allegedly publishing false information intentionally.
At the time, Gaitho was accused of implicating an innocent man in the Kware killings.
