The court proceedings involving university student David Oaga Mokaya have continued to draw attention as questions linger over freedom of speech and how the law is applied in cases linked to politics and online activity.
Mokaya was arrested in November 2024 after allegedly publishing a social media post that suggested President William Ruto was dead. His case has since become a point of debate on whether the state is handling online expression in a fair and lawful manner.
During the recent hearing, Chief Inspector Bosco Kisau, a detective from the Serious Crimes Unit at the DCI headquarters, testified about his role in the arrest. He told the court that on November 15, 2024, he was sent to Eldoret after receiving instructions from his superiors.
According to him, the assignment followed a complaint about a post circulating online that appeared to target the President.
Kisau explained that he and his team arrested Mokaya in the Annex area opposite Moi University and seized a Samsung phone, a laptop, and an identity card belonging to the student.
However, under questioning by lawyers representing the Law Society of Kenya, Kisau’s account revealed gaps that raised eyebrows. He admitted that investigators confiscated Mokaya’s devices before securing a search warrant, which defense lawyers argued was unlawful.
He defended the move as necessary, though he could not confirm the actual source or origin of the publication. At one point, Kisau even told the court that he did not know where the publication was done, a statement that appeared to weaken the prosecution’s case.
The defense also pressed him on whether the post directly carried an image of President Ruto.
Kisau conceded that it did not. Instead, the post in question reportedly displayed a casket draped in the Kenyan flag alongside a caption that mentioned “President Ruto.”
Lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrach Wambui challenged the assumption that this automatically referred to William Ruto, pointing out that the caption did not use his full name.
They argued that the phrase could in theory refer to any Kenyan with the surname Ruto who holds or has held a presidential role in any capacity.
Kisau further admitted that detectives had not recorded a statement from President Ruto himself, and he was not aware if such a statement had been taken.
This gap fueled further arguments by the defense on whether the case was built on speculation rather than clear evidence.
Prosecutors, however, maintained that Mokaya used his X account, under the handle “Landlord @bozgabi,” to publish the controversial post on November 13, 2024. They said the funeral image, showing a procession with a military escort and a casket draped in the national flag, was deliberately crafted to mislead the public into believing it was the funeral of President William Ruto.
Mokaya, who has pleaded not guilty, continues to face the charge of publishing false information. He appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Benmark Ekhumbi and was released on bond of Ksh. 100,000 or an alternative cash bail of Ksh. 50,000.
The case is still ongoing, but the testimonies so far have exposed weaknesses in the prosecution’s evidence and revived discussions about the boundaries of free speech and government control over digital spaces.
This matter is being closely followed not only for its political implications but also for the precedent it may set on how Kenyans use social media and how far authorities can go in policing online speech. At the heart of it remains a young student whose fate now lies in the balance of law and politics.
