Prosecution: Sudi video key to prosecute him for hate speech

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi at Nakuru law courts. [Daniel Chege, Standard]

The prosecution yesterday played a video in which Kapseret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi allegedly insulted President Uhuru Kenyatta and his mother Ngina Kenyatta.

Prosecutor Monica Mburu told Nakuru senior resident magistrate Isaac Orenge that the video was a key exhibit to help prosecute Mr Sudi over hate speech.

She paraded two witnesses - a social media forensic expert from the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and a police inspector - during the trial of the lawmaker charged with hate speech and offensive conduct.

Wycliffe Mwatu, a senior social media monitor at NCIC, testified that on September 7, 2020, he was alerted that the video was circulating on social media.

He said he reviewed the clip and gathered social media comments and reactions.

“The sentiments from the video attracted backlash from Kenyans who said the utterances could cause harm to the public,” said Mr Mwatu.

Inspector Peter Simiyu, who was deputy officer commanding Langas police station, said he was one of the 13 officers who raided Sudi’s home on September 11, 2020.

The trial continues on May 7.