Itumbi charged afresh over claims of publishing a false statement

Dennis Itumbi and co-accused Samwel Gateri Wanjiru have been charged afresh over allegations of publishing a false document.

According to the charge sheet, the two, on or before June 20,2019, published a letter dated May 30, 2019 with intent to cause anxiety to the general public.

Appearing before Magistrate Martha Mutuku on Tuesday, they pleaded not guilty after the court accepted that the two matters be consolidated.

The two accused have been linked to an alleged assassination letter involving Deputy President William Ruto.

It later emerged that the letter had been drafted at a cyber cafe in Lang’ata area, Nairobi after police turned to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to help with investigations.

The letter claimed that there had been an alleged meeting at Hotel La Mada on Thika Road with the DP as the main agenda.

Three Cabinet Secretaries were later summoned to the DCI headquarters on June 24, 2019 on allegations of plotting to ‘kill the DP’.

The CSs rubbished the allegations terming them as “wild” and “unsubstantiated.”

On July 22, 2019, the court was told that Itumbi allegedly published the letter dated May 30, 2019 purporting it to be a genuine document from a Cabinet Secretary.

He was also charged with reprogramming a mobile phone contrary to Section 84G of the Kenya Information and Communication Act.

DCI detectives arrested Itumbi at a city restaurant on July 3 and seven days later, he was freed on a Ksh.100,000 cash bail.

He was also ordered to refrain from discussing the case on social media.

His co-accused Gateri, had been charged with two counts on September 12: falsifying a document and purporting it to be from a CS and publishing the false document.

He was also released on a cash bail of Ksh.100,000.

On Tuesday, the court directed that the bail and bond terms set earlier remain.

The case is set for mention on Wednesday next week and the hearing slated for November 18, 2019.