KENYA STUDENT ON TRIAL FOR FAKE CAPTION OF RUTO ‘FUNERAL’
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Agency Report
On Thursday, a Kenyan university student appeared in court on charges of disseminating misleading information via a phoney photo caption that claimed President William Ruto had passed away.
Since large-scale demonstrations against tax increases and corruption in June of last year, Kenya has been repressing government critics.
Rights groups claim that security forces killed at least 60 people during the protests and kidnapped scores more afterwards.
After sharing a photo of a funeral procession on social media with the description “President William Ruto’s Body leaves Lee Funeral Home”, David Mokaya, 24, was taken into custody at the end of last year.
The matter was swiftly postponed to July 31 at the most recent hearing on Thursday.
Mokaya’s lawyer said the case was “an attack on freedom of expression”.
“Our client was taking the right… as a citizen of Kenya to express his political opinions, express political satire… and also criticise the head of state,” he told AFP.
“Political satire is not a crime,” he added. “The case is very flimsy.”
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In December, at least five people went missing for several weeks, with rights groups saying they were targeted by security forces for similar online satire.
At least two of them were abducted after sharing AI-generated photos of Ruto in a coffin.
Another of the group, cartoonist Gideon Kibet, also known as Kibet Bull, had been posting cartoons of the president but after his abduction said he would stop.
Rights groups blame a shadowy unit drawn from intelligence and counter-terrorism agencies for the abductions.
The government and police have denied responsibility.
But Ruto earlier this month appeared to take responsibility, telling a press conference: “All the people who disappeared or who were abducted… have been brought back to their families… and I have given clarity and firm instructions that nothing of that kind of nature will happen again.”
AFP
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