Activist Boniface Mwangi set for arraignment today on terror-related charges
Police claim the items they allegedly recovered at his office (two unused tear gas canisters and one blank round of 7.62mm ammunition) are evidence of his involvement in acts intended to cause public disorder and fear.
Outspoken activist Boniface Mwangi is expected to appear at Kahawa Law Courts on Monday to face terrorism-related charges, following his arrest on Saturday.
Mwangi, who is currently being held at the Pangani Police Station, is accused of facilitating terror activities allegedly linked to the anti-government protests held on June 25.
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Police claim the items they allegedly recovered at his office (two unused tear gas canisters and one blank round of 7.62mm ammunition) are evidence of his involvement in acts intended to cause public disorder and fear.
The charges have sparked immediate backlash from human rights defenders, legal advocates, and civil society groups who gathered outside Pangani Police Station on Sunday morning to protest his continued detention.
Human rights campaigner Hussein Khalid criticised the government's approach, saying: "Activists are not terrorists. This misuse of anti-terror laws to silence civil voices is unacceptable, and no amount of intimidation will deter us."
Boniface Mwangi’s wife, Njeri Mwangi (left), his lead advocate, Njanja Maina, accompanied by activists, speak to the press outside Pangani Police Station on July 20, 2025. (Photo: Abdirahman Khalif)
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has called for the immediate and unconditional release of Mwangi, accusing the government of using fabricated terrorism charges to suppress dissent.
In a statement, KHRC condemned Mwangi's arrest, saying it is part of a wider trend of weaponising the justice system against protesters and human rights defenders.
The Commission slammed President William Ruto's administration for escalating attacks on civil society.
"President William Ruto's regime must end its alarming tactic of slapping activists and protesters, who are resisting authoritarianism, with trumped-up terrorism-related charges. This troubling escalation is evident in today's abduction of Boniface Mwangi and reports that the DCI is planning to charge him with terrorism. The DCI must immediately release Mwangi and drop all malicious charges," KHRC said.
Mwangi was arrested on Saturday at his home in Courage Base, Lukenya, Machakos County. His wife, Njeri Mwangi, confirmed the arrest and revealed that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confiscated his electronic devices before driving him to Nairobi.
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