Boniface Mwangi says State deflecting accountability by stoking protest unrest
Boniface Mwangi said the violence in areas like OTC and Kenyatta Avenue had no connection to protesters, adding that police helicopters surveilled the streets and dispersed groups before they could assemble peacefully.
Activist Boniface Mwangi has accused the government of using infiltration, violence and fear to delegitimise public protests, saying the state is deliberately creating hostility toward demonstrators while ignoring their core demands for justice, police accountability and compensation for victims.
Speaking after the June 25 Gen Z anniversary protests, Mwangi said the state allowed violent groups to disrupt otherwise peaceful actions, while police met protestors with brutal force.
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“They’re trying to make it dangerous for anyone to protest; if you’re not attacked by goons, you’re shot by police, and if you survive, you’re arrested. All this benefits the government, no one else,” he said on Tuesday during an interview with Spice FM.
Mwangi criticised top state officials, including the president and cabinet members, for playing politics and shifting public attention away from the real issues.
“The demands were very clear: we want accountability, protection from killer cops and compensation for victims,” he noted.
Going further, Mwangi also accused the government of trying to “create hate towards protesters” by allowing destruction of property so that public support turns against demonstrators.
He also dismissed the recent narrative that the protests were part of an attempted coup, asking, “If there was a coup attempt, who are the coup planners and funders? Why haven’t they been arrested?”
Mwangi insisted that infiltrators were well-known and appeared to act with police knowledge, citing a lack of action against them despite being captured on camera.
He said the violence in areas like OTC and Kenyatta Avenue had no connection to protesters, adding that police helicopters surveilled the streets and dispersed groups before they could assemble peacefully.
He warned that the state was stoking ethnic tensions to shift attention from demands for justice.
“There was no tribe on Wednesday. People were in the streets for justice, not for their communities. But now leaders are saying their communities are targeted. That’s the tactic—to divide people and avoid addressing real issues,” Mwangi explained.
The activist also condemned what he described as a government that values property over human life.
“This country values property more than human life. We’ve had about 19 people shot with no justice. When a member of parliament is killed, we get answers in four days, but when ordinary Kenyans die, nothing happens,” he noted.
The protest on June 25 turned deadly, with Amnesty Kenya reporting 16 deaths, most caused by police during countrywide demonstrations marking the first anniversary of the 2023 anti-tax protests, where over 60 Kenyans were killed.
Authorities have since arrested 485 people linked to the Gen Z protests.
Director of Criminal Investigations Mohammed Amin said 448 have already been charged with crimes including murder, terrorism, rape, arson, and robbery. He added that criminal gangs were ferried in unmarked vehicles and deployed to incite chaos, saying security agencies are investigating their origins.
But Mwangi dismissed the state’s narrative as a cover-up meant to criminalise protests while shielding those truly responsible.
“If they wanted to arrest the goons, they know where to find them,” he said.
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