Court Rules Dennis Itumbi Has Case to Answer in Ruto Assassination Claim Saga

A Nairobi court has ruled that journalist and blogger Dennis Itumbi has a case to answer over a false letter alleging a plot to assassinate Deputy President William Ruto.

Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku on Wednesday ruled that Itumbi and his co-accused Samwel Gateri will have to defend themselves by giving an account of what happened either through a sworn affidavit or in person.

The two, who are linked to an alleged assassination letter involving the deputy president, were charged with publishing a fake document contrary to the law. 

The charge sheet read that the accused persons on or before June 20th, 2019, published a letter dated May 30th, 2019 with the intent to cause anxiety to the general public.

Detectives, who sought the help of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), said the letter was drafted at a cyber cafe in Lang’ata area, Nairobi.

The letter alleged that there had been a meeting at Hotel La Mada on Thika Road where a plot to eliminate Ruto was discussed.

The matter will be mentioned on Thursday to fix a hearing date.