Author Arrested For Writing About Charlene Ruto
Police have arrested an author, Webster Ochora Elijah, for reportedly writing a book about President William Ruto’s daughter, Charlene Ruto.
The investigators who arrested the author on Monday, June 2, stated that Ochora wrote and published a book on Charlene called Beyond the Name: Charlene Ruto and the Youth Uprising, without her permission.
Following his arrest, Ochora, who is now detained at Muthaiga Police Station, was charged with identity theft under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act.
Detectives also seized his laptop, and he will be arraigned on Tuesday, June 3, as part of the ongoing evidence-gathering procedure.
Detained Over Charlene Ruto Book:
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) June 2, 2025
Author detained over book on President Ruto’s daughter
Webster Ochora detained at Muthaiga Police Station
Police say they are probing a case of identity theft
Police say Charlene Ruto did not commission book#CitizenMondayReport… pic.twitter.com/LlnwC84Hgd
The police have launched additional investigations to determine who else supported and assisted the book’s authorship and release.
Responding to the arrest, Kennedy Mong’are, the family lawyer, stated that Ochora is a well-known novelist and publisher.
Ochora, who has written books about important figures such as former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and US President Donald Trump, believes the arrest was unjustified.
According to Mong’are, the book was not intended to do harm and instead aimed to highlight the president’s daughter’s positive contributions and successes over time.
“The young man detained here is a publisher and an author who has authored so many books, including those involving Donald Trump, Raila Odinga, and was in the process of working on a positive work for Charlene Ruto, and it is unfortunate that without due process, he is detained here,” Mong’are said.
Senior counsel Evans Ondieki, who condemned Ochora’s detention, argued that it was politically motivated and aimed at limiting his freedom of expression.
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Ondieki claimed that once in power, high-ranking government officials should be considerate and accept all sorts of criticism, to reinforce and reflect the country’s democratic fitness.
“Freedom of expression includes the right to use public images for commentary,” Ondieki said.
“In a democracy like Kenya’s, young people must be allowed to express themselves creatively. Arresting them for that undermines our democratic values.”
“We urge our public officers, particularly the presidency, to be fair and accommodate all sorts of criticism because that is the essence of democracy,” he added.
Author Arrested For Writing About Charlene Ruto
