Magistrate Forces Hearing as DCI Officer Testifies in Student’s “False Publication” Trial

A Director of Criminal Investigations DCI officer has told the court that he only linked a university student charged with false publication against the president with the devices confiscated.

The officer appeared before the court after the magistrate declined to adjourn the matter, after the officer investigating the matter, Joseph Karanja, submitted that the two witnesses who were expected to testify were unavailable.

The officer who was said to be off duty appeared in court shortly after the magistrate directed that the matter must proceed, and the two witnesses who were expected to appear in court to testify,

“I decline the application to adjourn the matter and the hearing must proceed, if the two witnesses fail to appear in court today at 11:30 AM, I will initiate a warrant of arrest against them,” the magistrate said.

The witnesses were the DCI officer, Bonface Machimbi, and Ezra Koech from the Communication Authority of Kenya CAK. The court was informed that Koech could not manage to appear to testify since he had attended a function in Baringo.

While giving his testimony before the Milimani senior principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhubi, Chief Inspector Benson Machimbi, attached at DCI Headquarters, homicide forensic department, analyzed data reports on the laptop and mobile phone, but admitted not to know whether the accused was the author.

During cross-examination by lawyer Danstan Omari, Machimbi admitted to focusing on the gadgets provided but not the person who was using them.

“Your honor, the instructions were to analyze the gadgets and make a report on the same since I don’t know the accused person before the court,” he told the court.

However, the officer clarified to the court that the data report he produced was authentic.

The accused, David Ooga Mokaya, a Moi University student, was charged in November last year with false publication and computer misuse.

He is alleged to have published on his X account a funeral procession with a casket wrapped with the Kenyan flag being escorted by military in uniform and indicating “president William Ruto’s Body leaves Lee Funeral Home.”

The officer further admitted that the word ‘body’ in the post does not connote a dead person.

The Law Society of Kenya, which is leading the defence through Ian Mutiso and Danstan Omari, informed the court that they have yet to be supplied with the witness statements of President Ruto, who is the complainant in the matter.

“This is a matter of great public interest as the subject of the trial is the head of state who the accused would like to cross-examine during the hearing.” Mutiso told the court.

Omari had requested the court to withdraw the matter, considering Mokaya is not concentrating on his academics, taking judicial notice that since 2022, the DPP has withdrawn 872 matters.

The hearing will resume on September 8, 2025.