Court allows police to detain woman operating social media account tracking Ruto’s flight movements

A Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court has granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) three days to continue investigating a woman accused of operating an X account that allegedly published information tracking the movements of President William Ruto’s flights.

The DCI had sought orders before the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Milimani to detain Halima Ngache for seven days at Muthaiga Police Station, arguing that more time was needed to complete investigations into alleged cyber harassment under Section 27(1)(a) as read with Section 27(2) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.

According to the miscellaneous application filed by Corporal Edwin Metto of the DCI’s Serious Crime Unit, investigators received intelligence on June 29 regarding a verified X account, @sholard_mancity, which had published flight information and route charts purportedly tracking the President’s movements.

Metto told the court that the motive behind the alleged tracking remained unknown and that the posts had caused apprehension regarding the security of the Head of State and the public.

The affidavit states that the account allegedly published posts claiming the President had travelled from Belgium to Norway aboard a chartered private jet on June 8, from Norway to Finland on June 10, and that another post on June 25 alleged the President had left the country and was expected to board a private jet in Madagascar.

The DCI said Ngache was arrested on June 30 in Bamburi, Mombasa County, and escorted to Nairobi, where she was booked at Muthaiga Police Station.

Metto told the court they recovered two mobile phones, a tablet, a laptop, flash drives and other electronic devices during her arrest, which they intend to subject to forensic examination to retrieve information they believe is crucial to the investigations.

The DCI further argued that while Ngache was being transported from Mombasa to Nairobi and after she had been placed in custody, the X account remained active and continued posting content.

Metto said this suggested the possible involvement of other suspects and argued that releasing her at this stage could jeopardize investigations.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) urged the court to grant the full seven-day detention period, submitting that investigators needed additional time to identify possible co-conspirators, obtain evidence from other agencies and complete the investigation before making a charging decision.

“We pray the application be allowed so that investigators may be able to carry out investigations into other possible co-conspirators. We pray the court does not release the suspect so that we do not run the risk of prejudicing the investigations,” the prosecution submitted, adding that the allegations were serious.

Opposing the application, Ngache appealed to the court to release her, saying she had been unexpectedly arrested from her home and had left behind a breastfeeding child who is in baby class.

She told the court she had not been able to contact anyone since her arrest and expressed concern about the welfare of her children.

Ngache also informed the court that she had been transferred from Mombasa to Nairobi without adequate clothing and said the cold weather had worsened her condition.

She further complained of pain in her back and stomach following a previous operation.

she argued that investigators had already confiscated all her electronic devices and questioned how the X account they attributed to her could still be posting while she remained in police custody.

Senior Principal Magistrate Teresa Nyangena declined to grant the seven days sought by investigators.

Instead, the magistrate ordered that Ngache remain in police custody for three days to allow investigators to continue with their investigations.

The matter will be mentioned on July 6, 2026.