A man has been arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts and charged with cyber harassment over an alleged threatening message sent to a magistrate stationed at the Kibera Law Courts. Francis Kamau Karanja appeared before Magistrate Thamara, where he denied a 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 on September 28, 2026, Karanja sent a message to a mobile phone number registered in the name of Magistrate Margaret Murage. According to the charge sheet, the message made reference to the magistrate’s handling of a case involving Gabriel Saka and allegedly contained words likely to cause apprehension or fear of violence to the judicial officer.
The prosecution opposed Karanja’s release on bond, describing the case as extraordinary because the alleged victim is a judicial officer. The State told the court that the alleged message had caused the magistrate to avoid using her residence and vehicle and had left her living in fear. Prosecutors urged the court to consider the Judiciary Bail and Bond Policy Guidelines, particularly provisions relating to the protection of victims when determining whether to grant an accused person bond.
However, Karanja’s lawyer, Muriithi Mbaabu, urged the court to grant his client reasonable and lenient bail terms. The defence argued that Karanja had been arrested and denied police bail without being informed of the reason for his arrest. According to the defence, Karanja was taken to Kilimani Police Station on Tuesday but was not arraigned that day.
He was subsequently presented before the Kibera Law Courts on Wednesday, where plea-taking was deferred after the prosecution requested that the matter be transferred to the Milimani Law Courts. The Kibera court ruled that prosecuting the case there could raise allegations of bias and directed that Karanja be presented before Milimani Court 1 for plea-taking.
Karanja has denied the allegations and remains presumed innocent until proven guilty. The court is expected to deliver its ruling on his bail application on Friday at 11am.
