Court releases 22-year-old man arrested for impersonating President Ruto on social media
Sifuna was arrested in Bungoma County for alleged publication of false information while pretending he was President Ruto and deceiving Kenyans that he would leave office.
A 22-year-old man arrested for impersonating President William Ruto on X and declaring he "Must Go" while pretending to be the fifth president of Kenya under the username "I must Go" has been released by the court.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was seeking orders to detain Titus Wekesa Sifuna for an additional five days to conclude investigations into offences of false publication contrary to section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2018.
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But Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsaringo declined the application and released Sifuna on a cash bail of Sh100,000 and an alternative bond of Sh1 million.
Sifuna was arrested in Bungoma County for alleged publication of false information while pretending he was President Ruto and deceiving Kenyans that he would leave office.
The DCI had been allowed to detain him for three days, but returned to the court on Friday seeking orders to detain the suspect for an additional five days to continue detaining him while carrying out investigations.
DCI says it received an intelligence report that Sifuna has been posting messages and images which are derogatory and disrespectful towards the head of state and his family on an X account.
Publication of false information
Detective Constable Peter Mwangi of DCI headquarters says he is investigating an offence of publication of false information contrary to section 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2018.
He says the X handle has been posting messages and images to the public, attracting negative comments, which are dangerous to the peace of the nation.
Mwangi says the messages and images attached to the account, which have been discovered so far during the preliminary investigations, are more of hate speech.
According to information obtained from the National Registration Bureau by DCI, the National Identity Card used to register the SIM card operating the X account, giving Kenyans false hope that Ruto is about to give in to Kenyans' pressure to resign, belongs to Sifuna.
Part of the ongoing investigations, according to Detective Mwangi, include subjecting mobile phones, laptops and hard disks to forensic examination, getting certified posts from X handle providers on the accounts used by Sifuna, which are awaiting orders of the court.
Others include escorting Sifuna to his areas of residence within Msambweni in Kwale County to try and gather more evidence and exhibits.
DCI says Sifuna was living in Msambweni for the better part of this year when he was posting the contents on the X account.
The suspect will be reporting to the DCI while free, to assist with the investigations if needed.
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