Kenyan student in court over false post on president Ruto’s death
A 24-year-old university student, David Mokaya, appeared in court on Thursday over a social media post falsely claiming the death of Kenyan President William Ruto, amid growing concerns about the government’s crackdown on dissent.
Mokaya was arrested late last year after posting an image of a funeral procession captioned, “President William Ruto’s Body leaves Lee Funeral Home.”
The post quickly went viral, leading to his arrest under laws prohibiting the spread of false information.
His case was heard at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi but was adjourned until July 31.
Mokaya’s lawyer condemned the charges, calling them “an attack on freedom of expression.”
“Our client was exercising his right as a Kenyan citizen to express political opinions, satire, and criticism of the head of state,” he told AFP, arguing that “political satire is not a crime” and describing the case as “very flimsy.”
The trial comes as Kenya faces scrutiny from human rights organisations over the treatment of government critics and activists, especially following mass protests in June last year over tax hikes and alleged corruption. Rights groups claim security forces killed at least 60 people and abducted dozens during and after the demonstrations.
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In a related incident in December, several individuals reportedly disappeared after sharing AI-generated images of President Ruto in a coffin.
Among them was popular cartoonist Gideon Kibet, known as Kibet Bull, who has since stopped publishing political content.
Rights organisations allege a covert unit within Kenya’s intelligence and counter-terrorism agencies is responsible for these abductions, a claim the government and police deny.
However, earlier this month, President Ruto acknowledged the issue, stating that all missing individuals had been reunited with their families and assuring the public such incidents would not recur.
