NAIROBI, Kenya – A junior secondary school teacher, Samuel Mainga, was presented before Milimani Law Court on Thursday, April 10, after being accused of creating a Facebook page impersonating President William Ruto’s daughter, June Ruto.
According to court documents obtained by TUKO.co.ke, Mainga allegedly opened the fake Facebook account in June Ruto’s name, using his personal phone number. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has requested permission from the court to detain Mainga for an additional seven days to conduct further investigations into the identity theft and impersonation charges against him.
Peter Mwangi, an officer from the DCI, told the court that Mainga, who was arrested on Wednesday, April 9, in Mombasa, has been charged under section 29 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act. He revealed that more time was needed to collect important documents related to the Facebook page and to record witness statements, which were still pending.
However, Mainga’s lawyer, Danstan Omari, opposed the application for detention, arguing that there were no compelling reasons to hold him for a full week. Omari emphasized that retrieving data from his client’s phone and completing witness statements would not take seven days. He also highlighted that Mainga had been arrested while accompanying junior secondary school students for a sports event in Mombasa, which caused him to leave the students unattended.
The court is expected to rule on the DCI’s application for further detention on Friday, April 11.
