An author who is facing charges of impersonating President William Ruto’s daughter now wants the court to dismiss the case after the complainant failed to show up in court on Wednesday.
Mr Webstar Ochora Elijah’s legal team has applied for the acquittal of their client after Charlene Ruto failed to turn up at Nairobi's Milimani Law Courts to testify.
Applying for Mr Ochora to be discharged, lawyer Evans Ondieki said it is an affront to the rights of the accused if he keeps on attending court session while the complainant fails to show up.
Man charged with publishing book about Ruto's daughter
“Now that the complainant in this case, who is the President's daughter, has failed to appear in court to testify, the only option left for this court is to discharge the accused for want of prosecution,” Mr Ondieki pleaded with the court.
However, lawyer Kevin Kachapin, for Ms Charlene Ruto, and the prosecuting counsel, Everlyn Mutisya, sought more time to enable their client appear in court to testify. Mr Kachapin said justice must be seen to be done in the matter.
Lawyer Kevin Kachapin (left), representing Charlene Ruto in an impersonation case against Webstar Ochora Elijah, at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on July 23, 2026.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
Applying for the case to be terminated, Mr Ondieki said Article 50 of the Constitution requires courts to determine cases within a reasonable time.
The charge against Mr Ochora states that on or before May 22 2025, at an unknown location within the Republic of Kenya, the accused, jointly with another person not before court and operating under the name Zawadi Publishers, falsely represented himself as Charlene Ruto.
He is accused of doing so with intent to defraud Ms Ruto, by publishing a book titled Beyond the Name Charlene Ruto and the Youth Uprising , without her consent.
The accused is out on a bond of Sh100,000 with an alternative cash bail of Sh50,000. He was granted bail on grounds that he is not at flight risk.
Webster Ochora Elijah when he appeared before the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi on June 3, 2025 on charges of impersonating Charlene Ruto.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
Mr Ochora was arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over alleged identity theft under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act.
After his arrest, Mr Ochora was held at Muthaiga Police Station, as forensic experts combed through his laptop for evidence.
Mr Ochora's defence team has maintained that the charges are politically motivated and amount to suppression of free speech.
Milimani Law Courts senior principal magistrate Robinson Ondieki will make a ruling whether or not to acquit the accused on July 28, 2025.
