The case against a Moi University student charged with publishing false information about President William Ruto has taken a turn with a police officer testifying that the Head of State is not a complainant in the matter.
Police Constable Joseph Karanja, attached to the Serious Crimes Unit at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), told a Milimani court that police did not record a witness statement from President Ruto in the case against David Ooga Mokaya.
PC Karanja told the trial magistrate that the complainant in the case against Mr Mokaya is the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
In the case, Mokaya is charged with publishing false information by posting a photo of President Ruto in a casket on his X handle Landlord @bozgabi . In the photo, the prosecution alleges, the casket is shown leaving Lee Funeral Home with members of the Kenya Defence Forces on guard.
According to the State, the image was posted on November 13, 2024. The post showed a funeral procession with a military escort carrying a casket draped in the Kenyan flag.
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.
Photo credit: Photo | Richard Munguti
No statement from Ruto or DPP
Asked by Mokaya's defence lawyer why police did not record a statement from the President, PC Karanja said the ODPP complained on his behalf through a DCI officer.
The police officer further testified that even though the ODPP was the complainant, he did not also record a witness statement from Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga.
“In every criminal case there is an accused person and a complainant. Who is the complainant in this case given that the main subject is President Ruto?” advocate Ian Mutiso for Law Society of Kenya (LSK) wondered.
PC Karanja went on to state that Mokaya had admitted that he posted the alleged offending post after receiving it from another person who has not been arrested and presented to court for trial.
University student David Ooga Mokaya (right) with his lawyer Ian Mutiso at Milimani Law Courts where he is charged with publishing false information about President William Ruto.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
Prosecutors said the image was intended to mislead the public into believing it depicted the funeral of President Ruto.
Senior principal magistrate Benmark Ekhubi will determine on November 5, 2025 whether the accused has a case to answer after closure of the prosecution's case.
Mokaya is out on a cash bail of Sh50,000.
