Atheists president Harrison Mumia seeks reduced bail in fake Ruto photos case
By Zipporah Ngwatu, January 19, 2026The President of the Atheists in Kenya Society, Harrison Nyende Mumia, has urged a Nairobi court to reduce the bond and bail terms that were granted to him, stating that he is unable to raise the required amount.
Mumia was charged on January 5, 2026, with several counts of false publications contrary to section 22(1) of the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act No. 5 of 2018.
He is accused of using his social media handles—his Instagram account and a pseudo-Facebook account—to publish photos portraying the head of state, President William Ruto, lying dead in what appeared to be a bed.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Dolphina Alego’s court granted him a bond of Ksh1 million, with an alternative of Ksh500,000 cash bail.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Rose Ndombi on Monday, January 19, 2026, for a pre-trial, Mumia, through his legal team led by Levi Munyeri, informed the court that he remains in remand because he has not been able to raise bail and bond.
Lawyer Munyeri argued that the charges against his client are political and urged the court to grant him affordable bail terms so that he is not punished before a court of law finds him guilty.
“Your Honour, the accused has not been able to raise the bail and bond granted to him by the court, and he remains at Industrial Area Remand. We urge the court to review his bail and bond terms so that he can be released and prepare his defence,” lawyer Munyeri told the court.
Further, Munyeri told the court that Mumia is a respected person in society and is not a flight risk, noting that he has a fixed residence which is well known to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers who arrested him.
Lawyer Abner Mango, also representing the Atheists’ president, told the court that Mumia’s family is only able to raise Ksh50,000 and asked the court to reduce the Ksh500,000 bail to this amount.
However, the prosecution rejected the application by the defence team, stating that Mumia’s failure to raise the granted bail and bond cannot be pinned on the prosecution.
The State argued that the defence, in their affidavit, did not indicate that the accused cannot raise the bail and bond granted earlier.
“Your Honour, we have been served with an affidavit where they indicate that the sole issue hindering them is that they could not find the accused person’s ID and passport. They did not state that they are unable to raise the amount; they only say they could not get his ID and passport,” the prosecution said.
According to the charge sheet, Mumia, while at an unknown location, made a post on December 30, 2025, disguising himself as one Robinson Kipruto Ngetich, publishing President Ruto’s image, and portraying him as dead, despite knowing he was alive.
“On December 30, 2025, while at an unknown place within the Republic of Kenya, and using a pseudo-Facebook account under the username Robinson Kipruto Ngetich, you knowingly published false information by posting an image of the President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency William Ruto, lying on a bed and falsely portraying him as deceased, information you knew to be false,” part of the charge sheet read.
On the same date, Mumia is accused, using the same pseudo-Facebook account, of publishing President Ruto’s image showing him lying on a hospital bed while in critical medical condition, knowing the information was false.
Further, Mumia is said to have, on the same date, through his personal Instagram account under the name Harrison Mumia, username @harrisonmumia, published the same image of President Ruto lying on a bed and falsely portraying him as deceased, which he knew to be false.
On a fourth account, Mumia is accused of publishing the same image on Instagram showing Ruto lying on a hospital bed while in critical medical condition, knowing it was false.
Mumia denied the charges, and a plea of not guilty was entered.