DCI arrests 22-year-old man for impersonating President Ruto

A 22-year-old man impersonating President William Ruto on X has been arrested for declaring he "Must Go" while pretending to be the fifth president of Kenya under the username "I must Go".

Titus Wekesa Sifuna from Bungoma County was arrested for alleged publication of false information while pretending he was President Ruto and deceiving Kenyans that he would leave office.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is now seeking orders to detain the suspect for seven days to allow detectives to conclude investigations into the matter.

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 his X account.

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.

"Dangerous to the nation's peace"

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.

"The contents in the X handle account are of great harm to the reputation of a country, being that the presidency is a symbol of national unity and ought to be respected and honoured by all," states Mwangi.

"The messages and images attached to the account, which have been discovered so far during the preliminary investigations, are more of hate speech, which can lead to ethnic tensions among the members of the public."

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 the false narrative 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.

Sifuna told DCI that he is a volunteer teacher in the area, and that is why he was living there during the time he was allegedly impersonating President Ruto.

Senior Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsaringo will make a ruling on the application later on Tuesday.

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