Popular TikToker Joseph Gitonga Kihanya, alias Gitonga Archives, has been ordered to undergo a mental assessment at Kenyatta National Hospital after being arrested over his failure to attend court proceedings in a KSh500,000 extortion case.

City Court Magistrate Grace Ouko issued the directive on today after Gitonga appeared before her following his arrest for jumping bail. His arrest followed a warrant issued on October 1, 2026.

The warrant was issued against him after he failed to attend court proceedings in the case where he was charged with allegedlly demanding money with menaces from a media service provider linked to Cooperative Bank of Kenya.

Gitonga was arrested in Nakuru and transferred to Nairobi, where he was presented before the court.

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 matter has since returned to court, where the magistrate directed that Gitonga be taken to Kenyatta National Hospital for a mental assessment.

Gitonga was charged last year with demanding KSh500,000 from Amos Hunja Mwangi, a media service provider, in an incident allegedly involving threats to damage a financial institution’s reputation on social media.

According to the prosecution, Gitonga acted jointly with another person who has not been brought before the court to demand the money from Mwangi.

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 KSh1.6 billion had been stolen from a bank account.

The prosecution alleges that Gitonga demanded KSh500,000 in exchange for removing the 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.

Gitonga denied the charges and previously pleaded not guilty.

He was initially released on a KSh50,000 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 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 Gitonga from discussing, publishing or causing to be published information relating to the case on social media or any other platform.

The restriction was intended to prevent public commentary that could affect the proceedings as the criminal case progressed.

Gitonga’s prosecution relates to allegations of demanding property with menaces, contrary to Section 302 of the Penal Code.