Police hold blogger Nyakundi over Covid-19 Twitter post
Blogger Cyprian Nyakundi. Police are holding him for claiming that a senior KPA official had travelled out of the country and failed to self-quarantine after returning home.. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Nyakundi is required to respond to more accusations that the police need answers for.
- Another blogger, Robert Alai, was on Monday charged with publishing false information on the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said anyone spreading falsehoods about the Covid-19 situation in the country will be arrested.
Police are holding blogger Cyprian Nyakundi for claiming that a senior Kenya Revenue Authority official had travelled out of the country and failed to self-quarantine after returning home.
The blogger, who presented himself at Nairobi’s Central Police Station on Tuesday afternoon after receiving summons from DCI detectives, is still being held there.
Nairobi Region Police Commander Philip Ndolo told the Nation that Mr Nyakundi is required to respond to more accusations that the police need answers for.
Another blogger, Robert Alai, was on Monday charged with publishing false information on the Covid-19 pandemic. He had been arrested on Friday last week.
SPREADING PANIC
Mr Alai was accused of spreading panic by suggesting that the government could be hiding Covid-19 related deaths at the port of Mombasa.
He denied publishing the information on his Twitter handle and was released on Sh50,000 cash bail.
Before his release, the court barred Mr Alai from making similar allegations on his Twitter and Facebook pages.
On March 15, 23-year-old Elijah Kitonyo, a student at the Kenya Medical Training College in Mwingi, was arrested after publishing claims on Twitter that the government was deceiving people regarding the situation in the country.
According to authorities, publishing such information amounts to a contravention of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act of 2018.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has made it clear that anyone spreading falsehoods about the Covid-19 and situation in the country will be arrested.
“These rumours must stop…but because I know empty appeals will not work, we will proceed and arrest a number of them to prove our point,” said the CS.
