Court directs TikToker in extortion case to undergo mental assessment
Tiktoker cum blogger Joseph Kitonga Kihanya at the city court where he charged with extorting Sh500000 from a city banker not to post a damaging video about the bank in the social media.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation
Correspondent
Nation Media Group
TikToker Joseph Gitonga Kihanya, alias Gitonga Archives, has been ordered to undergo a mental assessment after he allegedly failed to respond to questions from a probation officer following the cancellation of his bond for absconding.
A city court magistrate Grace Ouko, trying Kihanya for demanding money with menaces, ordered prison authorities to escort the accused to Kenyatta National Hospital for examination by a psychiatrist.
Kihanya was arrested in Nakuru after jumping bail and failing to attend court proceedings in the Sh500,000 extortion case. Kihanya has applied afresh to be released on bond. The magistrate has called for a pre-bail report.
“When the probation officer visited the accused in prison he did not answer question put to him. I urge this court to call for a psychiatrist report stating his mental condition," a prosecution counsel prayed the court. The court was urged to call for the mental report in 14 days.
The judge had cancelled his bond and directed that he remains in prison custody. The arrest warrant was issued on October 1, 2026.
The prosecution alleges that Kihanya demanded Sh500,000 from Amos Hunja Mwangi, a senior manager at the Cooperative Bank Limited, in exchange for removing a "damaging" video and refraining from publishing further content concerning the financial institution.
Mwangi reportedly told detectives that Gitonga threatened to continue releasing material that could damage the bank's reputation if the money was not paid.
Kihanya denied demanding the amount and pleaded not guilty.
His lawyer Joshua Nyamori had previously asked the court to reinstate his client's bail, arguing that he had missed court proceedings due to ill health.
However, no medical documents were reportedly presented to support the explanation for his absence, prompting the court to cancel his bond and order that he remain in custody pending the hearing of his application for fresh bail.
The alleged offence occurred between July 20 and July 27, 2025, within Nairobi County.
Prosecutors claim the demand was linked to a video published on Gitonga's TikTok account in which he allegedly claimed that Sh1.6 billion had been stolen from a bank account.
The case has also attracted the court's attention over allegations that Kihanya discussed the proceedings on social media.
During earlier proceedings, State Counsel Rama Mwanaidi urged the court to restrain the TikToker from commenting publicly about the matter, arguing that such posts could interfere with the judicial process.
The court subsequently issued a gag order barring Kihanya from discussing, publishing or causing to be published information relating to the case on social media or any other platform.
The restriction is intended to prevent public commentary that could affect the proceedings as the criminal case progressed.
Kihanya's prosecution relates to allegations of demanding property with menaces, contrary to Section 302 of the Penal Code.
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