Friday, February 20, 2026 - David Mokaya, the university student who was charged in court for publishing a photo depicting President William Ruto in a casket, has now announced plans to sue Safaricom.
His lawyer, Danstan Omari, accused the telecommunications
giant of breaching the Data Protection Act by allegedly sharing Mokaya’s
location with police without a court order.
Omari argued that the move violated his client’s
constitutional rights to privacy and dignity.
“This is a violation of the fundamental human right of
Mokaya.”
“We shall be moving to the High Court because our client’s
constitutional right was violated.”
“We have demanded Ksh200 million,” Omari said, adding that
Safaricom should also cover legal fees.
A demand letter has been issued to Safaricom, giving the
company until Monday to pay the compensation.
Omari insisted that officers from the Directorate of
Criminal Investigations (DCI) are not permitted to request mobile service
providers for location data without judicial approval.
He further questioned the legality of police confiscating
suspects’ phones and gadgets without court authorization.
“The question of police officers arresting people and the
first thing they take is a handset - no law allows police to take possession of
phones until a court order is issued,” Omari stated.
He hinted at pursuing other cases where suspects were
tracked through mobile service providers.
Trial Magistrate Carolyne Mugo at the Milimani Court
dismissed Mokaya’s case, ruling that police had framed him and lacked evidence
directly linking him to the offence.
Mokaya was released under Section 215 of the Criminal
Procedure Code.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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