Kuria now seeks Press gag order in hate speech case

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria wants the media barred from covering proceedings in a criminal case he faces over alleged hate speech and incitement to violence.

He sought the gag order Thursday before Principal Magistrate Tabitha Nyangena at the start of a suit in which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has asked the court to cancel his bail in the pending incitement case.

READ: DPP asks court to cancel Kuria’s Sh2m bond over harsh remarks

Mr Kuria is under investigation for allegedly telling machete-wielding youth in Kiambu to fight National Youth Service projects critics.

The DPP wants a Sh2 million bond he deposited in the first incitement case cancelled saying it had been granted on the condition that Mr Kuria would cease making inflammatory statements.

Thursday his lawyers Danson Mungatana and John Mburu asked the court to “exclude the press” from future proceedings as “our client is apprehensive of getting a fair trial having been vilified and convicted through the media.”

The court will make a ruling on the gag request on Monday before considering the DPP’s application.

However, the DPP in a rejoinder through Leonard Maingi termed the request as “trivial.” He asked the court to take notice of the shift towards “increased public participation in all spheres of decision making.”