Popular TikToker Joseph Gitonga Kihanya, alias Gitonga Archives, was arraigned in court following his arrest in Nakuru over a Ksh.500,000 extortion case.
Gitonga was transferred to Nairobi on Friday, October 9, and presented before the City Court after an arrest warrant was issued against him for failing to attend court proceedings.
His lawyer, Joshua Nyamori, applied for the reinstatement of his bail, telling the court that his client had missed previous proceedings due to ill health. He urged the court to release Gitonga pending the hearing and determination of the case.
However, no medical documents were reportedly presented to support the explanation for his absence.
The court cancelled his bond and ordered that he remain in custody until October 26, when his application for fresh bail is scheduled to be heard.
The arrest followed a warrant issued on August 22 by Magistrate Grace Ouko after Gitonga failed to appear in court for the hearing of the matter.
Gitonga is charged with demanding property with menaces, contrary to Section 302 of the Penal Code. He has denied the allegations and previously pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to the prosecution, Gitonga allegedly acted jointly with another person who has not been brought before the court to demand KSh500,000 from Amos Hunja Mwangi, a media service provider linked to a local bank.
The alleged offence is said to have occurred between July 20 and July 27, 2025, within Nairobi County.
Prosecutors allege that the demand was connected to a video published on Gitonga's TikTok account in which he claimed that Ksh.1.6 billion had been stolen from a bank account.
The prosecution further alleges that Gitonga demanded the money in exchange for removing the video and refraining from publishing additional content concerning the financial institution.
Hunja reportedly told detectives that Gitonga threatened to continue releasing material that could damage the bank's reputation if the money was not paid.
Gitonga had initially been released on a Ksh.50,000 cash bail or an alternative bond of KSh100,000 as he awaited trial.
The case has also attracted the court's attention over allegations that Gitonga discussed the proceedings on social media.
During earlier proceedings, State Counsel Rama Mwanaidi asked the court to restrain Gitonga from commenting publicly about the matter, arguing that his posts could interfere with the judicial process.
The court subsequently issued a gag order barring him from discussing, publishing or causing to be published information relating to the case on social media or any other platform.