Charlene Ruto accused Webster Ochora Elijah of “misusing” her name by writing the book without first seeking permission from her – triggering condemnation from free-speech advocates and lawyers.

Elijah was arrested and charged with impersonation for producing an unauthorised biography of Kenyan President William Ruto’s daughter, Beyond the Name: Charlene Ruto and the Youth Uprising,

Politician and lawyer Willis Otieno said to “criminalise authorship” was misusing the “state machinery in defence of fragile egos”.

Literary critic Mbugua Ngunjiri said the author did “nothing wrong”, giving an example of an unauthorised biography of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, in 2014, where the “author did not need to consult”.

“A million writers can write ‘her book’ and it will be perfectly legal. The only time Charlene would be justified to go after the author is if he misrepresented her in any way,” he posted on Facebook.

[Image: By Agwenge1, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=147638618]


author