By Collins Wanzallah, The Dispatch Digital
A national polytechnic student accused of impersonating former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and publishing nude pictures using a fake Facebook account has been acquitted.
Tyson Kibet, 23, was freed on Thursday after Sonko appeared at the Milimani court and withdrew the case. The trial magistrate, Geoffrey Onsarigo, acquitted Kibet following Sonko’s decision to forgive the student after his family pleaded with him.
Sonko assured the court that his decision to withdraw the case was voluntary and that he would not pursue the matter further.
Kibet expressed his gratitude to Sonko for the forgiveness and pledged to focus on his education, promising not to repeat the offense. He also requested Sonko to consider employing him in one of his offices or firms to help support his family and fund his education.
Kibet, a third-year student at a national polytechnic, had been charged in May this year before Milimani Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi for cybersquatting under Section 28 of the Computer Misuse Act.
According to the charge sheet, Kibet created a Facebook account in the name of Mike Sonko without authorization, intending to defraud Kenyans using Sonko’s identity. The prosecution urged the court to impose stringent bond terms, arguing that there was no documentation to prove Kibet’s student status or his ongoing exams.
However, Kibet’s lawyer objected, emphasizing that his client was a student with imminent exams and that his classmates had raised KSh 50,000 through a WhatsApp group to help with cash bail. The lawyer pleaded for a low bond to allow Kibet to attend his classes.
The Magistrate acknowledged Kibet’s youth and possible student status, ruling that he should be released on reasonable bond terms. Kibet was granted a cash bail of KSh 200,000 or a bond of KSh 1 million. Despite this, he remained in Nairobi’s Industrial Area prison as his family could not afford the bond terms.
