Activist Boniface Mwangi Arrested in Nairobi CBD

Police in Nairobi on Thursday arrested renowned Kenyan social justice activist Boniface Mwangi at the Central Business District (CBD) after leading hundreds of protesters who marched across the Kenyatta Market and in the streets in honour of the victims who were killed in the ongoing anti-government protests.

Since the Gen Zs-led countrywide protests demanding accountability from the political class started, Mr Mwangi has been very vocal and openly challenged the police killings, saying the officers were arbitrarily using excessive force on peaceful protestors.

Njeri Mwangi, his wife, spoke to investigative journalism media house Africa Uncensored about the arrests. She described the arrest as unjust, calling for his release from the Central Police Station where he is currently detained.

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“They have taken Boni, and they have also taken the mothers of the victims who were shot. They are all about impunity. They don’t care about who lives or dies,” Njeri told Africa Uncensored.

She added: “Kenyans, you have to fight for yourselves. You have to come out; this watching around makes us so vulnerable. Come out in large numbers. We must fight this together.”

Njeri decried that his husband’s arrest and that of other activists, including Shadrack Kiprono and Hussein Khalid of Haki Africa, is a way of suppressing protests against police brutality by silencing critical voices.

Demanding their immediate release, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) said that such arrests are uncalled for in a nation of pluralistic democracy like Kenya, where the constitution allows for citizen participation in protests as a catalyst for political and social change.

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