Boniface Mwangi, a prominent Kenyan activist, has been accused of illegal possession of ammunition related to protests that killed at least 19 people last month.
He denied the charge and has been released on bail.
As police said earlier, Mr. Mwange was not accused of “promoting terrorist acts.”
Investigators said on Sunday they had grabbed a cell phone, a laptop and laptop from his Lukenya home and fenced from his office in the city in the capital, Nairobi and hard drives, computers, tear gas cans and a blank gun.
His arrest – especially his suggestion that he would face allegations of terrorism sparked a wave of condemnation, with human rights groups condemning it to suppress the voices of the opposition. The activist denied the allegations against him and said in an article on X: “I’m not a terrorist.”
The so-called crime and Anti-government Protest on June 25 WhereAccording to the state-funded National Human Rights Commission (KNCHR), 19 people died when protesters clashed with police. Hundreds of people were also injured, property and business were damaged.
Search warrant police once raided Mr Mwanger’s home and office, accusing activists of paying for “stupid” efforts in protests, news agency AFP reported.
“The president believes that anger at his administration is being created and that the people are getting paid,” Mwanji told supporters and reporters on Monday.
People hate it [Kenyan President William] Ruto is free. ”
Mr. Mwangi, holding the Kenyan flag, wore a T-shirt with the word “I love my country” and added that he had never used “fool” with “a lifetime.”
When he entered the court, fellow activists and supporters who gathered to express his unity and support sang the national anthem.
Most people died on June 25, with gunshot wounds, and human rights groups blamed police brutality.
However, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen described the demonstration as “terrorism disguised as dissent” and was an “unconstitutional attempt” to change the government. He said several police stations were attacked, many officers were injured and vehicles caught fire.
Nock said at least 38 people were killed in subsequent protests earlier this month.
Since June last year, more than 100 people have been killed in a row of anti-government protests, and police accused the use of excessive force to calm everyone, leading to further demonstrations.
President William Ruto urged police to shoot violent protesters in their legs instead of killing them.
On Sunday, a coalition of 37 rights groups condemned Mr Mwangi’s arrest on “unreasonable terrorism charges” as “the latest escalation in the systematic repression, which is the young people detained by hundreds of Kenyans on suspicion of terrorism allegedly created.
“The persecution, initially targeting young protesters demanding accountability, has shifted to a full-scale attack on Kenyan democracies,” they said in a joint statement.
“The Boniface Mwangi and our children who showed a high level of political awareness with terrorism,” said James Orengo, a senior politician and governor of Siaya County.
Mr. Mwanger has been detained several times in the past and has been the center of many protests.
In May, he and Atuhaire, a Ugandan activist, were detained in Tanzania, where they participated in the trial of Tundu Lissu, the leader of Tanzanian opposition, accused of treason.
A few days later, they all said they were kidnapped, tortured and sexually assaulted. Since then, they have filed a lawsuit in the East African District Court on the matter.
Who is Boniface Mwangi?
Mr. Mwange is widely regarded as one of Kenya’s most prominent and fearless activists, and a large part of his life was driven by him to promote social justice.
In the past, he has been in the face of many protests, some of which are dramatic and symbolic. This included a demonstration in 2013, when he covered blood-covered piglets on the gates of parliament in protest of “greedy MPs” who demanded wage increases.
Pigs were taken to Parliament to protest MPs demanding a hike in salary in 2013 [Gallo Images via Getty Images]
In 2024, he called on people to bring the coffin to the streets, symbolizing the way he said MPs tax Kenyans and were in protest on behalf of those killed by police.
He was beaten, arrested and detained several times for his bold and provocative behavior. He often talks about his physical and emotional scars of radicalism over the years – but he is still uncomfortable.
Mr. Mwangi is a former photojournalist who, after documenting the deadly violence after the 2007 election, captured the depth of the crisis, with more than 1,000 deaths and 350,000 deaths and forced to cause a crisis from their homes.
He then won the CNN Africa Photographer of the Year Award in 2008.
After that, Mr. Mwangi said the journey of recording these images personally influenced him and disillusioned him. He later promoted to activism and has since won other honors, including being named the top 100 most influential Africans by New Africa Magazine in 2020.
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