In a bizarre twist that has stunned many, a Junior Secondary School teacher from Nyamira County is spending the night behind bars at Capitol Hill Police Station, Nairobi — accused of something almost too strange to believe: impersonating President William Ruto’s daughter, June Ruto, on Facebook.
The suspect, Samuel Mainga, a soft-spoken teacher tasked with shaping young minds, now finds himself at the center of a national identity-theft investigation with political undertones and digital deception at its core.
Caught While on Duty
Ironically, Mainga wasn’t arrested while hiding or on the run. He was nabbed in Mombasa, right in the middle of doing what teachers do best — chaperoning students at a national sports event.
But his mission quickly changed from coaching to custody when officers swooped in on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, whisking him away from the coastal city and flying him to Nairobi to face serious charges.
The Digital Trail
According to court documents presented on Thursday, Mainga is accused of running a Facebook account pretending to be June Ruto, the diplomat daughter of President William Ruto. The posts in question, published on March 20 and April 8, allegedly misled the public by using the identity of someone deeply entrenched in the country’s first family.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) now wants seven more days to dig deeper into what they describe as a “complex cyber impersonation case.” They claim they still need time to analyze online data, obtain critical documents, and determine the full scale of the alleged identity theft.
Police Constable Peter Mwangi, who filed the affidavit on behalf of the DCI, argued that Mainga’s place of residence has not been verified, making him a potential flight risk. He insisted that the teacher should be kept in custody until investigations are complete.
But Mainga isn’t facing this battle alone. His defense attorney, the ever-outspoken Danstan Omari, showed up ready to rumble. Arguing that his client was not a flight risk and that investigations could proceed without jailing him, Omari pleaded with the court to release the teacher on bail.
“He is a teacher, not a criminal mastermind. You don’t need to jail someone just to write witness statements,” Omari told the court.
The court, acknowledging the gravity and peculiarity of the case, has deferred the bail ruling until Friday at 9am. Until then, Mainga remains in police custody — a teacher now entangled in a digital scandal of national proportions.
Why Pretend to Be June Ruto?
While investigators remain tight-lipped on the motive behind the impersonation, questions linger:
- Was Mainga attempting to scam unsuspecting followers using the prestige of the Ruto name?
- Was it a political statement disguised in satire?
- Or was it simply a misguided attempt at online fame?
Whatever the motive, the incident has ignited a fresh debate on cybersecurity, identity theft, and the blurred line between parody and criminal impersonation in Kenya’s fast-evolving digital space.
As Kenyans wait for the Friday ruling, many are still wrapping their heads around the irony of it all — a teacher, tasked with instilling values and responsibility, now under investigation for assuming the identity of the President’s daughter.
One thing is certain: for Samuel Mainga, this is one lesson he never planned to teach — or learn.
