Gatundu South MP is a relieved man after a Nairobi court dismissed hate speech charges against him.
Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi ruled that the legislator had no case to answer because the prosecution failed to authenticate the source of the video in which he was allegedly captured uttering the inciting words.
According to Mr Andayi, the prosecution did a shoddy job and even failed to get a translator to interpret the meaning of the words allegedly uttered by Mr Kuria.
The charges against the MP state that on September 5, 2017, at Wangige Market in Kiambu County, he used abusive words that were intended to cause physical injury to a person.
He is accused of using offensive language against opposition Raila Odinga and his wife Ida a few weeks after Chief Justice David Maraga announced the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify results of the August 8, 2017 presidential election, that President Uhuru Kenyatta won.
The court said the words uttered among them ‘wembe ni ule ule‘ (loosely translated as the ‘razor is the same’), cannot be interpreted to mean they could cause death or bring injury upon anyone.
The court ordered the Sh300,000 cash bail Mr Kuria had posted to secure his release be returned to him.