This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
On August 2, 2019, Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi acquitted Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria of hate-speech and incitement to violence charges at the Milimani Law Courts.
The acquittal came after the court found the prosecution's evidence to be insufficient, with Andayi stating that the video clip relied on by the prosecution did not contain the part where Kuria made the alleged inciting remarks.
Kuria was accused of inciting violence against ODM leader Raila Odinga and his wife Ida on September 5, 2017, in Wangige market, Kiambu County, during the campaigns ahead of the October 26, 2017, repeat presidential elections.
Speaking to the press after his acquittal, Kuria faulted the state for "abuse of the criminal justice system” to pursue political expediency, stating, "I have spent two years here answering to travesty of justice and abuse of the criminal justice system. I am the only standing prisoner of conscience,"
