The hearing of a case in which, a university student accused of publishing a fake social media post to imply President William Ruto was dead, continued on Monday before a Nairobi court.
Chief Inspector Bosco Kisau, attached to the Serious Crimes Unit at the DCI headquarters, told the court that he was dispatched to Eldoret on November 15, 2024, after receiving instructions from his superiors to pursue the student David Oaga Mokaya.
The move followed a complaint lodged about an online post said to target the Head of State.
He testified in court that he was leading a team of four officers during Mokaya’s arrest.
His role included arresting the accused, recovering exhibits, and handing them over to investigating officers.
He also conducted the initial investigations.
He said he identified himself as a police officer during the arrest and showed his documents to Mokaya.
However, under cross-examination, Kisau admitted that he had not presented any documents in court to prove that he had introduced himself to the accused.
The officer said that he informed Mokaya of the reason for his arrest and signed an inventory with him.
He added that the team did not indicate the specific offence on the arrest records.
Kisau also confirmed that a warrant to detain Mokaya’s gadgets was obtained only after the arrest.
During the proceedings, defence lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrach Wambui asked Kisau whether the alleged post actually carried a picture of President William Ruto.
He conceded that it did not.
Instead, the court heard, the disputed post showed a casket draped in the Kenyan flag, accompanied by an anthem and a caption that mentioned “President Ruto.”
Omari questioned the witness on whether the publication suggested that the President was dead.
He argued that the post never mentioned a “dead body” and that the phrase “body leaving” could equally refer to a live person.
“Your honour, there is a body but not a dead body,” Kisau responded.
Omari further pressed the witness on whether the name “William Ruto” could belong to other Kenyans.
“Anybody can have that name, it is not permitted to one person,” he told the court.
Kisau dismissed the suggestion, insisting that he only knew of one President William Ruto.
Asked whether any member of the public had been shocked by the publication, the witness admitted he could not confirm.
Ezra Koech, a police officer seconded to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) told the court that he had been tasked by the Serious Crime Unit to analyze six links associated with an account under the handle @bosskabi landlord.
The request, dated November 15, 2024, formed part of investigations into a case of publishing false information.
The officer said he generated a seven-page report dated November 18, 2024, which included screenshots from the links provided.
Among the posts reviewed was one showing an image purporting to depict President William Ruto’s body at Lee Funeral Home, as well as other disturbing images, including one of a hanging object.
Another link contained photos of two people, while the sixth link led to images of shoes from which a mobile phone number was extracted.
However, during cross-examination by lawyer Omari, the officer admitted that his report did not link the X account to the accused person before court, nor did it authenticate the origin of the images.
He also confirmed that while CAK has the capacity to verify X accounts, registration details remain tied to the account holder.
Separately, Daniel Khamisi, an investigator with Safaricom’s security and liaison department, testified that he received a request from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters on November 14, 2024.
The letter sought call data records for four mobile numbers in connection with the cybercrime probe.
Khamisi told the court that his report, dated November 28, 2024, covered communication between October 15 and November 13, 2024.
He highlighted two transactions on November 13, including an incoming SMS at 4:24 p.m. and an incoming call lasting 270 seconds.
Both were traced to Eldoret Annex, and the device used was identified by an IMEI number.
Mokaya was arrested in November 2024, and charged with publishing alleged false information about President Ruto.
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