Court acquits MP Sudi of hate speech, insulting Mama Ngina

A court in Nakuru has acquitted Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, who was accused of insulting Mama Ngina Kenyatta.

Nakuru Principal Magistrate Isaac Orenge ruled that there was no case to answer because the State did not provide sufficient evidence.

The magistrate said there was no indication that the words uttered by Sudi in a Youtube clip that went viral on social media platforms caused provocation and thereafter a breach of peace.

Sudi was arrested in Eldoret in September 2020 and was charged with three counts of incitement and hate speech.

He was accused of making offensive comments about President Uhuru Kenyatta and his family.

But on Friday, Orenge said the prosecution was duty-bound to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Sudi's utterances were likely to make people resort to violence.

"I have considered the evidence tabled. There was no witness who stated what effect the words uttered had on them," said Orenge.

He observed that the prosecution witnesses said that there were demonstrations at Kiambu but there was no evidence to prove that the protest actually took place.

"There is no evidence that was presented to warrant the accused to be placed on his defence," said the magistrate.

He also noted that there is no way of proving the authenticity of the social media accounts used to spread the clip and the people who commented on it.

"Some of the accounts that were used to comment on the said clip were not verified, some accounts were created shortly after the clip aired," he said.

Sudi was charged with two counts of hate speech and offensive conduct in September 2020.

In the first and second count, the charge sheet noted that the legislator used threatening words likely to stir ethnic hatred on YouTube at an unknown place on September 7.

On another count, he was charged with using abusive words via YouTube that were likely to breach the peace.

Sudi has been out on a Sh500,000 bail.