Kenyan Teacher Accused of Opening Facebook Page Impersonating June Ruto Presented in Court
- On Thursday, April 10, a junior secondary school teacher was presented before Milimani Law Court and accused of impersonating President Ruto's daughter, June
- Court documents seen by TUKO.co.ke show that the teacher identified as Samuel Mainga allegedly opened a Facebook page in the name of June Ruto
- Police have, however, requested to be allowed to hold him for seven more days, an application the teacher, through his lawyer Danstan Omari, has opposed
Nairobi: The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has requested the court to allow them to detain for seven more days a teacher accused of creating a Facebook page impersonating that of President William Ruto’s daughter, June.
Source: Facebook
The accused, Samuel Mainga, was on Thursday, April 10, presented before Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Robinsin Ondieki, where detectives applied to detain him for a week.
Why DCI want more time in case against JSS teacher
According to the police, they need more time to conduct further investigations into allegations of identity theft and impersonation facing the teacher.
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Peter Mwangi, an officer from the DCI, told the court that Mainga, a junior secondary school teacher, was arrested on Wednesday, April 9, in Mombasa.
He is facing charges related to identity theft and impersonation contrary to section 29 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act.
In an affidavit seen by TUKO.co.ke, Mwangi told the court that he needs more time to obtain vital documents in relation to the Facebook page that the teacher is alleged to have opened.
He also claimed that the suspect was a flight risk.
"The gist of the matter is that between 20th day of March, 2025 and 8th April, 2025, the respondent allegedly posted some contents in June Ruto Facebook account purporting to be the real June Ruto,” read part of the affidavit.
“Due to the nature and the complexity of the matter, it requires more days to obtain some vital information/documents in relationship to the case,” he added.
The police further told the court that they had not yet completed investigations as some witness statements had not been recorded. He teached is claimed to have used his line in opening the said Facebook account.
They want the accused detained at Capital Hill Police Station.
However, Mainga, who is being represented by lawyer Danstan Omari, opposed the application, arguing that there were no compelling reasons to have him detained for a week.
Source: Original
Omari further pointed out that police do not need seven days to retrieve data from his client’s cell phone or record statements.
He also revealed his client was arrested as he took junior secondary school children for a sports event in Mombasa, where he was forced to leave them unattended.
"My client here was arrested in Mombasa. He is a junior secondary school teacher who had taken pupils for National sports event day. There is no compelling reason to hold him. Let him be freed on cash bail. If the police need him, he is ready and willing to avail himself,” Omari told the court.
“You come to seek for seven days to detain their teacher without explaining how the students will be dealt with,” he added.
The court is expected to rule on whether it will allow the DCI’s application or not on Friday, April 11.
Ex-Kitui MCA arrested for impersonating EACC officers
TUKO.co.ke previously reported that detectives had arrested three suspects, including a former Kitui MCA over allegations of impersonating Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) officers.
The three were also accused of extorting money from high-ranking senior government officials and parastatals.
They were arrested at a hotel while allegedly waiting to swindle a complainant who had alerted authorities at the EACC.
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Zipporah Weru (Freelance editor) Zipporah Weru is a professional journalist with a bias towards human interest, human rights, crimes and court reporting with over 14 years’ experience in journalism. She is currently covering civil, criminal and constitutional cases across Nairobi courts. She holds a Diploma in Journalism and Public Relations from the Technical University of Kenya. You can reach her at zweru34@gmail.com.
Joshua Cheloti (Editorial assistant) Joshua Cheloti is a multi-skilled journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. He holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media and Communication at Mount Kenya University. At TUKO, he's an editorial assistant. Before TUKO, he worked at Nairobi Review as an editorial writer, at Hope Media (Hope TV and Hope FM) as a correspondent in Eldoret, Hivisasa.com digital content editor and online writer, at Biblia Husema Broadcasting (BHB), Eldoret as Radio Presenter. Email: Joshua.cheloti@tuko.co.ke
