The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has withdrawn the case against Dennis Itumbi, the ICT Chief Administrative Secretary and former State House Digital Strategist. Itumbi had been accused of forging a letter in 2019, alleging a plot to assassinate the then Deputy President William Ruto.
The ODPP decided to withdraw the case due to a lack of sufficient evidence to prosecute Itumbi and his co-accused, Samuel Gateri. The office deemed the charges against them unconstitutional.
The court, in acquitting Itumbi and Gateri, declared that the entire process of prosecuting the two individuals had violated the Constitution.
Itumbi had faced three charges, including the creation of a false document, the publication of a false statement, and the reprogramming of his mobile phone. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The forged letter, for which Itumbi was accused, claimed that a group of high-ranking government officials in the former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration had convened a meeting at La Mada Hotel, located off Thika Road in Nairobi, to plan the alleged assassination of Deputy President Ruto.
Subsequently, Itumbi was arrested and charged after the letter was discovered to have been shared in a WhatsApp Group named Tanga Tanga movement.