David Mokaya Ooga at the Milimani Law Courts during the hearing of a cybercrime case against him in which he has been accused of publishing a false story in the social about the demise of the state William Ruto in November 2024.
A digital forensic analyst has told a Nairobi court that he could not directly link a false social media post about President William Ruto’s alleged death to a fourth-year Moi University student.
Testifying before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark on Monday, analyst Boniface Machibi said the false publication, which went viral on the social media platform X, originated from a cellphone.
David Mokaya Ooga is alleged to have authored and circulated the post.
Mr Machibi dismissed claims by defence lawyers Danstan Omari and Ian Mutiso that the controversial post may have been generated by artificial intelligence or a bot.
Ooga is accused of publishing a post dated November 13, 2024, which stated: “Ruto’s body leaves Lee Funeral Home.”
Lawyer Danstan Omari.
While being cross-examined by lawyers Omari and Mutiso, Mr Machibi insisted that the post was authored and circulated by the accused through the X platform.
“Are you aware that robots also generate and circulate content?” Mr Omari asked.
“Yes, I am,” Machibi responded, “but the information in this criminal case was authored by the accused and shared on X.”
The cybercrime and digital forensic analyst explained that on November 28, 2024, he received two exhibits—a Samsung Galaxy A23 smartphone and a laptop—from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and was tasked with extracting data related to the viral post.
Using a forensic tool known as Cellebrite UFED, Mr Machibi retrieved data from both devices.
"Matching timestamp date"
He revealed that the phone had three user profiles: boz gabi (linked to the handle landlord ke), urban trend ke, and masillas.
It also contained a screenshot of the offending post. From the laptop, he retrieved files from a folder labeled "DVR," which confirmed a timestamp matching the date of the publication.
Mr Machibi, however, told the court that although the data appeared authentic, he could not confirm ownership of the devices or directly connect the accused to the post.
“I did not interact with the owner of the devices. I can only link the data to the gadgets, not to a specific individual,” he said.
During cross-examination, lawyer Omari questioned the strength of the evidence, noting that the post did not explicitly state that the president was dead and could have been generated using AI.
Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
“There is no direct statement that the president is dead. Additionally, the content could have been AI-generated,” he argued.
He also highlighted the prosecution’s failure to establish who owned the devices, arguing that there is no direct link between the accused and the message.
Mr Omari urged the court to consider that Mokaya is a student currently attending classes and requested that the case be heard after the university session ends in mid-September.
“We request that the matter be scheduled after the session concludes in the second week of September,” he said.
State Counsel Virginia Kariuki requested the court to summon Safaricom for further data relevant to the case.
“We are seeking additional data and request that Safaricom be compelled to assist,” she said.
Lawyer Ian Mutiso, appearing for the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), told the court that the prosecution had not shared key material, including physical electronic devices and the full forensic report.
So far, only a summary from the DCI had been provided.
Magistrate Ekhubi granted the prosecution’s request and adjourned the case to September 8, 2025.
Ooga has denied the charges and is out on a Sh50,000 bond.
