A Nairobi court has acquitted Kiambu Governor William Kabogo of ethnic incitement charges after the prosecution failed to present credible and admissible evidence linking him to the alleged hate remarks.
Senior Principal Magistrate Martha Mutuku ruled that the State had not established a prima facie case against the governor, noting that the video clips used by the prosecution could not be authenticated because the original raw footage was never produced in court.
According to her ruling, the clips were sourced from a third party, not the media stations that allegedly broadcast the recording, and had visibly undergone editing, making them unreliable as evidence.
The magistrate further pointed out that the prosecution failed to prove that Kabogo uttered words likely to cause violence or even identify the specific community the alleged remarks targeted. No direct evidence, she said, connected the governor to the statements.
Magistrate Mutuku also faulted the State for failing to call the individual who recorded the clip to testify and confirm whether Kabogo actually made the remarks said to have circulated on social media. Two witnesses who testified for the prosecution could also not conclusively confirm that the governor uttered the alleged statements.
“The prosecution has not established a case against the accused person. I therefore acquit him under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” ruled Mutuku.
Governor Kabogo, represented by lawyers Mansur Issa and Edward Oonge, had been charged with ethnic contempt in August 2016. He was accused of making the remarks at Thika Stadium in November 2015 during musician John De’Mathew’s album launch. He denied the charges and was released on a KSh 200,000 cash bail.
Kabogo joins a growing list of politicians who have either been charged or are currently facing charges related to hate speech and incitement. These include former Nairobi Mayor George Aladwa, Machakos Senator Johnson Muthama, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu, Kitutu Masaba MP Timothy Bosire, and Kilifi Woman Representative Aisha Jumwa, among others.