Dennis Itumbi charged afresh over ‘fake’ Ruto assassination letter
The office of public prosecutions on Tuesday consolidated charges against blogger Dennis Itumbi and Samuel Gateri who were earlier charged separately over the Deputy President William Ruto’s “fake” assassination letter.
The two denied the charges over the May 30, 2019 letter before chief magistrate Martha Mutuku.
They are charged with publishing a false statement where they published a letter dated May 30 with the intent to cause anxiety to the general public.
Itumbi was on July 22 charged with making a false document without authority and publishing a false statement.
GENUINE LETTER
He is also charged with making a false document purporting it to be a genuine letter from Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
The former State House Director of digital and his co-accused are also charged with reprogramming their mobile phones.
Gateri had been listed as witness against Itumbi when he [Itumbi] was charged but the Directorate of Criminal Investigations dismissed claims he was a witness after he pulled out.
In a Tweet, the DCI said Gateri was under investigations and a few days later charged him. Both are out on Sh 100,000 cash bail.
Gateri had earlier told the court that detectives investigating the matter had coerced him to admit he had talked to Ruto over Itumbi’s La Mada Hotel assassination plot case.
In the “fake” letter, Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho held a meeting with several cabinet secretaries from Mt Kenya region to plot Ruto’s assassination.
Kibicho disowned the letter weeks later. Itumbi earlier told a court that he has CCTV footage of the meeting held at the basement area of the hotel. But magistrate Zainab Abdul declined to view it.