Man Arrested Over Ruto ‘Funeral’ Photo

Police have been directed to protect a suspect alleged to have posted a photograph depicting a funeral of his excellence William Ruto.

Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi of Milimani Law Courts said that the suspect Benson Malova Ashiko should not be subjected to any form of torture especially given the fact that the alleged offence touches the most powerful in the Country.

Ashiko is being investigated for a case of publication of false information where the police told court that he shared a photograph in his X account depicting a funeral of H.E William Ruto, the president of Kenya.

The said photograph was captioned “My condolences to the first family” which was deemed to imply that death had befallen the president of the republic of Kenya.

The prosecution told court that some of the comments made on the photo upload were grossly offensive and detrimental towards the president and were intended to negatively affect the president’s reputation together with members of his family and cause panic among citizens.

The police asked the court to allow them detain the suspect for a period of 40 days to conclude investigations before forwarding the file to the ODPP.

According to the prosecution the post had reached quite a large population both within Kenya and outside the Country.

The prosecution told court that the behavior of posting photographs of the president in a coffin had become rampant in the republic of Kenya.

However, the defence objected to the application by the prosecution to detain the suspect for 40 days saying police can as well conclude their investigations with the suspect enjoying his freedom outside cells.

In objecting to the 40 days detention request by the ODPP, Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi said that Article 49 h of the constitution provides that the suspect has a right to be released on bail and or bond unless there are compelling reasons.

“The court must be careful to protect his rights although it must not appear to be trivializing what the suspect has committed, I will allow him to be detained for only 4 days that is up to 30th after the said date, he will be released on Ksh 50,000 bond with an alternative cash bail of Ksh 5,000,” ruled the Magistrate.

Magistrate Shitubi also directed the Investigating officer to ensure that the suspect is not tortured given the fact that the said offence touches the most powerful family in Kenya.

The suspect will be released from police cells on January 30, 2025, upon executing a bond of Ksh 50,000 or an alternative cash bail of Ksh 5,000.