Man denies cyber harassment charge over message sent to magistrate

A man has been arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts and charged with cyber harassment over a message allegedly sent to a magistrate.

Francis Kamau Karanja appeared before Magistrate Irene Thamara, where he denied the charge of cyber harassment contrary to Section 27(1)(a), as read with Section 27(2), of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.

The prosecution alleges that Karanja sent a message on September 28, 2026, to a mobile phone number registered in the name of Magistrate Margaret Murage.

According to the charge sheet, the message, which allegedly made reference to the handling of a case involving Gabriel Saka, contained words likely to cause apprehension or fear of violence to the judicial officer.

The prosecution opposed Karanja’s release on bond, describing the matter as extraordinary on the grounds that the alleged victim is a judicial officer.

The State told the court that the alleged words had caused the magistrate to avoid using her residence and vehicle and had left her living in fear.

The prosecution asked the court to be guided by the Judiciary Bail and Bond Policy Guidelines, particularly on the need to protect victims when determining whether to release an accused person on bond.

However, Karanja’s lawyer, Muriithi Mbaabu, urged the court to grant his client reasonable and lenient bail terms.

The defence told the court that Karanja had been arrested and denied police bail without being informed of the reason for his arrest. He was taken to Kilimani Police Station on Tuesday and was not arraigned that day.

He was subsequently presented before the Kibera Law Courts on Wednesday, where plea taking was deferred after the prosecution sought to have the matter transferred to the Milimani Law Courts.

The Kibera court ruled that prosecuting the matter there could lead to allegations of bias and directed that Karanja be presented before Milimani Court 1 for plea taking.

The court is expected to deliver its ruling on Karanja’s bail application on Friday at 11am.