In a shocking development, the court has pronounced political activist Nuru Okanga Maloba not guilty in a prominent lesbian case in Nairobi. The prosecutor could not build a prima facie case that connected him to the alleged online crimes.
The decision, made on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, aroused a lot of discussions around the topic of digital rights, standards of investigation, and the application of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act.
The magistrate, Rose Ndombi, said that the evidence given by the State did not even come close to a legal standard and, therefore, concluded that the prosecution was merely presenting “suspicion and conjecture” instead of credible proof that Okanga was involved in the making, uploading, or spreading of the controversial video that was the case’s focus.
Okanga was accused of three crimes under the Cybercrimes Act, and the investigators identified social media platforms “Riba News” and “Siasa TV KE Backup” as the sources of the false information. The prosecution claimed that the video was so controversial that it could lead to public disorder and that Okanga was the one spreading it.
But the trial revealed fundamental flaws in the prosecution’s strategy. Under cross-examination, Constable Milton Mwanzi of the DCI Serious Crime Unit admitted that no court orders were issued to track Okanga’s movements or search his house, and also no electronic gadgets were confiscated to link him directly to the supposed accounts. He even admitted that he was not a digital forensics expert and could not authenticate the video content.
The digital evidence was not authenticated by other prosecution witnesses as well, and the link between the activist and the social media posts was not proved. On the other hand, Okanga’s defense, represented by lawyer Babu Owino, successfully claimed that the lack of search warrants, confiscated gadgets, and forensic validation made the charges legally unsustainable.
In her ruling, Magistrate Ndombi invoked Section 210 of the Criminal Procedure Code and clearly expressed that Okanga “has no case to answer” and thus acquitted him of all charges. The incredible dropping of the case points out the very high evidentiary bar that cybercrime prosecutions face and also reveals the still existing problems the digital investigations encounter in the Kenyan judicial system.
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