Four in court for publishing falsehoods about Nairobi MCA on Facebook
An engineer with the state department of public works is among four people charged with posting malicious information about a member of Nairobi County Assembly (MCA) on Facebook.
Eng Javin Ochieng Othuol alias Kinuthia James is facing the charges alongside Bramwel Wesonga alias Balliam for allegedly posting the false information against Mlango Kubwa ward MCA Susan Kavaya Makungu on Jukwaa la Siasa Mathare Facebook account.
They are jointly accused of publishing the information knowing the same to be false and calculated to discredit the reputation of Ms. Makungu contrary to section 23 of the computer misuse and Cybercrime Act of 2011 on diverse dates between January 1st and 9th this year.
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The two, who are the administrators of the group, are accused of committing the offence jointly with other members of the said Facebook group.
Eng Othuol is facing two additional counts of publishing false information. In the second and third counts, he is charged alongside Joseph Kuguma Wanjiku alias Gush Manenoz and Wallace Ogundo Otieno who are members of the group.
They are similarly charged with publishing falsehoods against the complainant on the Facebook account.
Ms Makungu had joined the group in 2021 while campaigning for the seat which she eventually won in the August 9, 2022 General Elections. The group was formed by Eng Othuol in 2018.
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Ms Makungu later discovered that the accused persons were publishing false information about her in the group. She contacted Eng Othuol and requested him to pull down the malicious posts but he reportedly demanded cash.
The MCA reported the matter at Ruaraka Police Station. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) took over the matter and eventually arrested the four suspects.
The four denied the charges before Principal Magistrate Eric Mutunga of Makadara Law Courts and were freed on a bond of Sh1 million each with a surety of a similar amount. The case will be mentioned on March 28t, 2023 before hearing starts on June 26, 2023.
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