Kenyan man in court after threatening to shoot President

A Kenyan man was arraigned before a local court on Monday over a Facebook post where he threatened to shoot President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Simon Muchiri, 22, was charged under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act with misusing the social media platform by publishing the remarks that are deemed detrimental to the office of the president and the people who occupy it.

The court was told by the prosecution team that he committed the act on February 27 this year at an unknown place.

Mr Muchiri was arrested by security officers after reviewing his page and later tracking him down using his mobile number.

“That on February 27 at unknown place you published on your Facebook page that you would kill President Uhuru Kenyatta without hesitation if you had a gun,” the prosecution told the court.

The accused, however, denied the charges and was released on a cash bail of Sh200,000 (K1.4 Million).

His lawyer had pleaded with the court to release Mr Muchiri, saying he is a young adult and a first-time offender who his family relied on to put food on the table.

The magistrate, while releasing the accused, set March 15 as the date when the case will come up for pre-trial hearing where the accused will be furnished with all the evidence that the prosecution team intends to use in court.

The case will subsequently go for full hearing on May 13.

This is not the first time someone has found himself in hot water for abusing Mr Kenyatta.

In 2015, for instance, Alan Wadi Okengo, was jailed for insulting the president. The then fourth-year university student was sentenced to two years in jail for posting unprintable insults against president Kenyatta on social media.

The Moi University student was arrested as he attempted to sneak out of the country through the Busia border.