Two Arrested over Facebook Post Alleging CS Matiang’i is in ICU Fighting Covid-19

Police in Eldoret have arrested two brothers for allegedly sharing false information about Interior CS Fred Matiang’i’s health. 

The two, Emmanuel Kimutai Kosgei (31) and Isaac Kibet Yego (19), were picked from their home in Ngeria by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Saturday.

They are accused of spreading fake reports on Facebook claiming that CS Matiang’i was admitted to the hospital after contracting Covid-19.

Kosgei and Yego, a Form Four student, have been placed under police custody pending questioning and arraignment in court next week. A mobile phone and laptop were confiscated during their arrest.

Their arrest comes a day after Matiang’i filed a complaint with the DCI over the false reports that he says have affected his family. The rumors alleged that Matiang’i was admitted to the Aga Khan Hospital’s ICU.

“I feel for my family. My innocent wife and children who have their own lives to live but they have to endure this kind of rumors. They are private citizens who have to pay a heavy price because one of them is in public service,” Matiang’i said.

“If I was sick of Covid-19 I will be the first to go public with it because there is nothing to hide. I have been tested three times because our level of exposure is high because of high interactions.” 

The Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act states that “a person who intentionally publishes false, misleading or fictitious data or misinforms with the intent that the data shall be considered or acted upon as authentic, with or without any financial gain, commits an offense and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five million shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.”