Atheists in Kenya president Harrison Mumia has been arraigned in court over allegations that he shared AI-generated images depicting President William Ruto as deceased.
According to the charge sheet dated Monday, January 5, the prosecution said the alleged posts were made on Tuesday, December 30, through both a pseudonymous Facebook account and Mumia’s personal Instagram account, and that the content amounted to false publications under Section 22(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act No. 5 of 2018.
"Harrison Nyende Mumia alias Robinson Kipruto Ngetich: On the 30th day of December 2025 while at unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, while using a pseudo Facebook account under the username Robinson Kipruto Ngetich you knowingly published false information by posting an image of the President William Ruto lying on a bed and falsely portraying him as deceased, information you knew to be false," the charge sheet read.
Mumia pleaded not guilty to all the charges, after which the court set stringent bond terms, including travel restrictions, as confirmed by his lawyer.
"Hon. Dolphina Alego has set a hefty bond of Ksh1,000,000 after Harrison Mumia pleaded not guilty of posting images of Ruto lying in bed. Cash bail has been set at Ksh500,000. He has also been ordered to surrender his passport," Lawyer Levi Munyeri stated.
Read More
This case comes months after tech activist Rose Njeri was released on a Ksh100,000 personal bond following her arraignment in court over cybercrime-related charges.
She was charged with the unauthorised interference of computer systems contrary to section 16 of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act No.5 of 2018.
In the charge sheet that was made public on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, she was accused of contravening the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act, section 16.
According to the police, Njeri created a system that enabled users to automatically generate emails to the National Assembly's Finance Committee.
"Rose Njeri Tunguru: On the 19th day of May,2025, at 2001 hrs at an unknown location within the Republic of Kenya, hosted knowingly made https://civicemail.netlify.app/ that automatically generated you and sent a mass program emails at to [email protected] which is the official systems of the finance committee, thereby interfering with the normal functioning of the systems," read the charge sheet in part.
Notably, months later, Njeri earned global acclaim after being named to the prestigious TIME100 Next list for 2025.
In a statement on Tuesday, September 30, Njeri said the acknowledgement also belongs to those involved in her journey.
"I’m incredibly honored and excited to share that I’ve been named in the 2025 #TIME100NEXT list! This recognition is not just mine but belongs to everyone who has walked this journey with me, challenged me, and inspired me to keep going," she said.
