A law student has denied using derogatory language against president’s William Ruto's son, George Ruto.
Hesbon Mauti Thomas changed his plead after intervention of four lawyers who asked the court to allow the student to change his plead to not guilty.
Lawyers Danstan Omari, Shadrack Wambui, Cliff Ombeta and Stanley Kinyanjui told the magistrate court that they have advised the student on the consequences of pleading guilty and advised him to change the plea.
“We were in court on a different matter then we interacted with the young man and advised to change plea. We are here to represent him on pro bono and offer to pay the cashbail for him,” said Omari.
The Magistrate heard that the said charges emanate from a Linda Mwananchi gathering at Keumbu where Cliff was in an attendance and that’s why he is interested in this matter
Omari further told the court that the young man, who is an orphan, was fearing that he will not be admitted to bond that is why he originally pleaded guilty.
Omari further told the court that Mauti is being educated by the church following the passing of his parents.
On Thursday, Mauti pleaded guilty before the Milimani Law Courts to a charge of offensive conduct, conducive to a breach of the peace in connection with a TikTok video allegedly containing remarks directed at President William Ruto's son, George Ruto.
The accused, Hesbon Mauti Thomas, admitted the charge when he appeared before the court on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
According to the charge sheet, the prosecution alleges that on June 25, 2026, at an unknown location within Kenya, Thomas, while using his TikTok account, PROVIDENT@bonifaceaminga, posted a video in which he allegedly altered the lyrics of a song to include remarks referring to George Ruto and members of the President's family.
The prosecution contends that the words used in the video were likely to cause a breach of the peace, contrary to Section 94(1) of the Penal Code, Chapter 63 of the Laws of Kenya.
Court records indicate that Thomas was arrested on July 21, 2026, before being arraigned at Milimani, where he entered a guilty plea to the charge.
He has pleaded not guilty and released on a cash bail of KES 5,000.
