Politician Francis Gaitho Charged With Publication of False Information

Politician and social media influencer Francis Ng’ang’a Gaitho has been charged with false publications and cyber harassment.

In an update by the Office of The Director Of Public Prosecutions on Thursday, July 18, Francis is alleged to have published false information about one Jairus Onkundi Morwabe. 

"Gaitho, a politician and social media influencer, was arrested on July 17, 2024, and faced charges of false publications contrary to Section 22(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crimes Act No. 5 of 2018, and Cyber Harassment Contrary to Section 27(1)(a) of the same Act.

"The court heard that on July 15, 2024, at approximately 14:00 hours, while at an unknown location he intentionally published false information on social media with the intent that the data would be considered or acted as authentic," ODPP said in a statement. 

He pleaded not guilty to the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Robinson Ondieki and was released on a cash bail of Ksh 30,000.

The case will be mentioned on August 1, 2024, for pre-trial.

Gaitho presented himself to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) after police announced that they were looking for him. 

In a surprise twist, journalist Macharia Gaitho was arrested on Wednesday before he was released with police claiming it was a case of mistaken identity and they were looking for Francis Gaitho instead. 

"The National Police Service would like to clarify to the public that this morning, we arrested journalist Macharia Gaitho in a case of mistaken identity, meant for the arrest of Francis Gaitho who is our subject of investigation. We reiterate that as a Service, we do not target journalists in any way, and today's incident is highly regrettable," NPS stated.