Popular TikToker and political commentator Joseph Gitonga Kihanya, known online as Gitonga Archives, was arrested in Nakuru and transferred to Nairobi on Friday, October 9, after a court warrant was issued over his repeated failure to appear for trial in a KSh 500,000 extortion case. Gitonga was presented before the City Court in Nairobi, where his advocate, Joshua Nyamori, applied for reinstatement of bail, citing ill health as the reason his client had missed previous court sessions.
The court declined to immediately restore his bail, cancelled his existing bond, and remanded him in custody until October 26, when a hearing on a fresh bail application is set to take place. The warrant for his arrest had been issued on August 22 by Magistrate Grace Ouko after Gitonga failed to appear before court on the scheduled hearing date.
Gitonga faces a charge of demanding property with menaces under Section 302 of the Penal Code. Prosecutors allege that he acted in concert with another individual, who has not yet been arraigned, to demand KSh 500,000 from Amos Hunja Mwangi, a media service provider with ties to a local bank.
According to the charge sheet, the alleged extortion took place between July 20 and July 27, 2025, within Nairobi County. According to the prosecution, the demand arose from a video posted on Gitonga's TikTok account in which he claimed that KSh 1.6 billion had been stolen from a bank account.
Investigators were told that Gitonga offered to remove the video and withhold further related content in exchange for the payment. Hunja told detectives that Gitonga threatened to keep releasing material damaging to the bank's reputation unless the money was paid.
The case attracted further judicial scrutiny after concerns arose that Gitonga had been discussing the proceedings publicly online. State Counsel Rama Mwanaidi urged the court during earlier proceedings to restrict the TikToker from making public commentary on the matter, warning that such posts risked interfering with the administration of justice.
Gitonga has denied all the allegations and previously entered a not guilty plea. He had earlier been released on a KSh 50,000 cash bail, with an alternative bond of KSh 100,000, pending the conclusion of the trial. A gag order was issued prohibiting Gitonga from discussing, publishing, or facilitating the publication of any information relating to the case on social media or any other platform.
Key points
- Gitonga Archives was arrested in Nakuru and charged with demanding KSh 500,000 from a media service provider.
- The TikToker was remanded in custody until October 26 to hear a fresh bail application.
- Gitonga denied all allegations and had previously been released on bail pending the trial conclusion.
