A middle-aged man was arraigned in a Kitale court facing charges of sending an abusive text message famously known as SMS via his mobile phone to a woman terming her to be a harlot who cannot afford her meals.

Before Kitale Chief Magistrate Maxwell Gicheru was Nicholas Kibyego Keter who was said to have send the message to Rose Amadadi on February 27 this year through his phone number +254714145184 to Amadadi’s phone number +254721399701.

The text read in part as quoted here,  “I do pity u coz if ungekua ukijitegemea u could be using ur own money 4 tpt lunch en supper bt u r sch a bg harlot wt bg hole,” end of the text

The accused was said to have contravened the Communication Act and thus, his charge read as, “Improper use of a licensed telecommunication system contrary to Section 29(A) of the Communication Act 1998.”

However, the man denied the charge and was released on a cash bail of Kshs 40,000 and a surety of Kshs 100,000.

The case will be mentioned on May 31, 2012 before hearing to be held on September 5 this year.

The move of arraigning Kibyego in court for abusive SMS is likely to be a big lesson to many Kenyans who are always fond of sending such messages that are abusive, insulting or threatening to other phone users.