Kenya, March 19 -- A university student named David Oaga Mokaya will go to trial because he is accused of sharing false information and posting a misleading picture of a funeral procession.
The court has decided that the case will continue after confirming that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) did not tell anyone to drop the case.
Mokaya asked to review the charges against him and wanted to know if President William Ruto would be called to speak in court.
During a meeting on Wednesday, the prosecutors told the court that there were no instructions to drop the case and asked the court to set dates for the hearing.
The defence lawyers agreed to move forward with the case.
The full hearing is now set for May 29 of this year.
Mokaya, through his lawyer Danstan Omari, asked whether President William Ruto would testify in the case.
"The student is accused of posting a picture of a casket on Twitter. I have written to the DPP, asking them to reconsider the charges based on the citizen's right to criticise their leader, especially the president," the lawyer explained in court.
The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) also wanted to know if the president would be a witness and questioned whether the court had the right to handle this case.
According to the DPP, Mokaya allegedly posted the image on his X account, "Landlord @bozgabi," on November 13, 2024. He claimed it was a picture of President William Ruto's body being taken from a funeral home.
The court heard that the picture showed a casket covered with the Kenyan flag and being carried by military officers in special uniforms, but it was fake and made people believe it was about the President.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Bana Kenya.