This archive report was first published on 12 July 2019.
On July 12, 2019, State House digital strategist and blogger Dennis Itumbi was set to be presented in court to face charges related to a fake letter.
The letter, which alleged a plot to assassinate Deputy President William Ruto, had sparked a heated debate in the country.
Police sources revealed that by Tuesday evening, it had been decided that Mr. Itumbi should be charged with making a false document.
However, there was a push for a higher charge of treason for imagining the death of a sitting deputy president, according to the sources.
Mr. Itumbi was detained last Thursday for five days to enable police to conclude investigations.
Part of the reasons the police wanted to hold him was to enable them to question 256 members of a WhatsApp group known as Tangatanga, of which the blogger is a member.
"So far, they haven't told us if there are any additional charges against my client, but if they do so, we will make it public," Mr. Chelanga, Itumbi's lawyer, told the Nation.
