Blogger Maverick Aoko's cybercrime case: Court sets July 7 for prosecution ruling

A Milimani court has set July 7 as the day to deliver a ruling on whether the prosecution will be given more time to produce additional witnesses or be compelled to close its case in the ongoing false publication proceedings against blogger Maverick Aoko.

Principal Magistrate Dolphina Alego gave the directions after the prosecution failed to present all its witnesses during the three-day hearing allocated for the matter.

During the hearing on Thursday morning, the court was informed that only one witness was available to testify, prompting the defence to file an application seeking the closure of the case for lack of sufficient evidence.

The hearing began with the testimony of Sergeant Norah Shindi, who told the court that she, along with a Chief Inspector, had been assigned to arrest Aoko along Gatanga Road. They were later joined by officers from the Intelligence Unit before effecting the arrest.

Sergeant Shindi testified that a court order obtained through a miscellaneous application had allowed them to search Aoko's house. During the operation, several items were recovered, including a Huawei phone with a broken screen, a laptop, a flash disk, and a Dell laptop charger.

"At the point of arrest, we found the items in her house," she stated.

However, during cross-examination, Sergeant Shindi admitted she could not confirm whether the house they searched actually belonged to Aoko or whether the items were hers.

"I am not the investigating officer in this matter," she said, adding that she had not been informed of the exact reason for the arrest but believed it was related to cybercrime.

She also acknowledged that the search order did not specify the accused's address and that directions to the premises had been provided by another officer who is not a witness in the case.

Sergeant Shindi concluded her testimony by stating that she handed the recovered items to the investigating officer.

With the prosecution unable to produce any additional witnesses, Magistrate Alego said she would rule on July 7 whether the prosecution's case will proceed or be closed as sought by the defence.

Aoko is accused of using her social media handle to spread false and defamatory information about the complainant, Beth Wambui Mbuitu.

In a charge sheet obtained by Citizen Digital, the suspect, who was arrested on Friday, August 16, is accused of posting a tweet that was described as malicious, false, and well-planned to harm the complainant's reputation.

She posted the tweet on August 3, 2024, saying: "Maze it disorients me to say this.. But Amber Ray is innocent. She did not ruin marriage, ya Jamal Amira.. Beth did. She's the daughter of a powerful cop, so if you find me thrown Kware, refer to this tweet... Ask how Jamal moved from Makanga wa South C to Matatu boss... Ndio naanza."

According to the charge sheet, the remarks violated Section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2018, which states that if found guilty, a person faces a Sh5 million fine, a 10-year prison sentence, or both.

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Aoko is out on a cash bail of Sh100,000.