Two men were charged on Tuesday with opening a fake Facebook page, naming it Margret Kenyatta and lying to Kenyans that the first lady was disbursing cash to small businesses.
The court heard that the disbursements were meant to cushion the businesses from the effect of Covid-19 and interested traders were to pay registration and transaction fees.
Duke Ongweso and Brian Nyakiri pleaded not guilty before Kibera senior principal magistrate Charles Mwaniki. The charge sheet says the two, between March and June 22 at an unknown place within Kenya and with others, created and posted articles on the page to con people out of their money.
"We are disbursing Ksh 30,000 to small business entities upon registration with Ksh 599 payable through mobile number 0715062579, 0726685788 and 0740841644 to cushion Covid-19 pandemic (sic)," their post read.
The police say they acted knowing well that the post was false and likely to discredit the reputation of the first lady. The two were also charged with other counts of publishing false data, contrary to the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, and two counts of obtaining money by false pretences.
The charge sheet says that on April 24, they obtained Sh999 from Edah Masoso purporting that they were registering her to benefit. They also obtained Sh600 from Centrine Nafula.
According to the police report, the two were arrested in Kisii county after detectives got a tip-off. Besides the registration fee, a Sh400 transaction fee was needed, the police say.
On Tuesday, the duo, through lawyer Okinyo Jabungu, asked for lenient bond terms. Jabungu said his clients were ready to abide by the court's demands, adding that they were not flight risks.
He said the suspects had been in police custody for 17 days, hence it was only fair they be released on bond to go back to Kisii. Jabungo also requested documentary evidence alongside witness statements.
The magistrate released them on Sh1 million bond each or an alternative Sh100,000 bail. The case will proceed on July 16.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
