Latest news with #FreeBonifaceMwangi
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Kenya drops terror charge against prominent activist
NAIROBI, KENYA - Kenya dropped terror charges against prominent activist Boniface Mwangi on Monday, following widespread condemnation, hitting him with a lesser charge of unlawful possession of ammunition. The east African country has seen a wave of deadly protests against President William Ruto and police brutality that have left dozens dead and thousands of businesses destroyed. Rights groups have criticised the government's heavy-handed response, including the recent use of terrorism charges against protesters. Mwangi was detained on Saturday and accused by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations of the "facilitation of terrorist acts", which he denied, declaring in an image on X: "I am not a terrorist". He appeared in a Nairobi court on Monday chanting "Ruto Must Go". His charge sheet, seen by AFP, accused him of "possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas cannisters without lawful authority", as well as a single round of blank ammunition. He pleaded not guilty, denying all charges, and was released on a one-million-shilling (around $7,000) personal bond. "The truth is our president is scared of young people, because young people are organising by themselves, they are going to the streets, they are demanding better," Mwangi told supporters and journalists outside the court. "Our president thinks people are being paid to go to the streets, and they think I am the financer. "People hate Ruto for free," he said. 'ABANDON THIS APPROACH' A coalition of rights groups welcomed the court's decision to drop the terrorism charges, but said they remained "deeply concerned" by its use "in more than 100 other cases". The coalition urged the authorities to "abandon this dangerous approach to managing public dissent". Last week, interior minister Kipchumba Murkomen said that 71 people were facing charges related to acts of terrorism following the recent violent protests. Responding to the criticism, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said the charges should be "understood within the framework of established legal thresholds and national security imperatives rather than interpreted as efforts to suppress legitimate political expression". Mwangi's detention over the weekend triggered significant online condemnation under the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi. The search warrant police used to raid his home and office accused the campaigner of paying "goons" to stoke unrest at protests last month. Mwangi has been arrested multiple times in Kenya. He was also detained in May in neighbouring Tanzania, where he was attending the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire say they were tortured and sexually abused while in the custody of Tanzanian police before being returned to their respective countries. The pair brought a case against the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan governments to the East African Court of Justice last week. Mass protests initially broke out in Kenya in June 2024 over tax rises, and reignited last month over police violence and illegal detentions. Rights groups say more than 100 people have been killed by police since the protests began last year.
eNCA
2 days ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Kenya drops terror charge against prominent activist
Kenya dropped terror charges against prominent Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi on Monday, following widespread condemnation, hitting him with a lesser charge of unlawful possession of ammunition. The east African country has seen a wave of deadly protests against President William Ruto and police brutality that have left dozens dead and thousands of businesses destroyed. Rights groups have criticised the government's heavy-handed response, including the recent use of terrorism charges against protesters. Mwangi was detained on Saturday and accused by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations with the "facilitation of terrorist acts", which he denied, declaring in an image on X: "I am not a terrorist". He appeared in a Nairobi court on Monday chanting "Ruto Must Go". His charge sheet, seen by AFP, accused him of "possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas cannisters without lawful authority", as well as a single round of blank ammunition. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a one million shilling (around $7,000) bail bond. "The truth is our president is scared of young people, because young people are organising by themselves, they are going to the streets, they are demanding better," Mwangi told supporters and journalists outside the court. "Our president thinks people are being paid to go to the streets, and they think I am the financer. "People hate Ruto for free," he said. A coalition of rights groups welcomed the court's decision to drop the terrorism charges, but said they remained "deeply concerned" by the use "in more than 100 other cases". It urged authorities to "abandon this dangerous approach to managing public dissent". Mwangi's detention over the weekend triggered significant online condemnation under the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi. The search warrant police used to raid his home and office accused the campaigner of paying "goons" to stoke unrest at protests last month. Mwangi has been arrested multiple times in Kenya. He was also detained in May in neighbouring Tanzania where he was attending the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire say they were tortured and sexually abused while in the custody of Tanzanian police before being returned to their respective countries. The pair brought a case against the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan governments to the East African Court of Justice last week. Mass protests initially broke out in Kenya in June 2024 over tax rises, and reignited last month over police violence and illegal detentions.
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Kenya drops terror charge against prominent activist
The east African country has seen a wave of deadly protests against President William Ruto and police brutality that have left dozens dead and thousands of businesses destroyed. Rights groups have criticised the government's heavy-handed response, including the recent use of terrorism charges against protesters. Mwangi was detained on Saturday and accused by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations with the "facilitation of terrorist acts", which he denied, declaring in an image on X: "I am not a terrorist". He appeared in a Nairobi court on Monday chanting "Ruto Must Go". His charge sheet, seen by AFP, accused him of "possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas cannisters without lawful authority", as well as a single round of blank ammunition. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a one million shilling (around $7,000) bail bond. "The truth is our president is scared of young people, because young people are organising by themselves, they are going to the streets, they are demanding better," Mwangi told supporters and journalists outside the court. "Our president thinks people are being paid to go to the streets, and they think I am the financer. "People hate Ruto for free," he said. A coalition of rights groups welcomed the court's decision to drop the terrorism charges, but said they remained "deeply concerned" by the use "in more than 100 other cases". It urged authorities to "abandon this dangerous approach to managing public dissent". Mwangi's detention over the weekend triggered significant online condemnation under the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi. The search warrant police used to raid his home and office accused the campaigner of paying "goons" to stoke unrest at protests last month. Mwangi has been arrested multiple times in Kenya. He was also detained in May in neighbouring Tanzania where he was attending the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire say they were tortured and sexually abused while in the custody of Tanzanian police before being returned to their respective countries. The pair brought a case against the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan governments to the East African Court of Justice last week. Mass protests initially broke out in Kenya in June 2024 over tax rises, and reignited last month over police violence and illegal detentions. Rights groups say more than 100 people have been killed by police in the latest round of protests, while the government puts the figure at 42.
Int'l Business Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Kenya Drops Terror Charge Against Prominent Activist
Kenya dropped terror charges against prominent Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi on Monday, following widespread condemnation, hitting him with a lesser charge of unlawful possession of ammunition. The east African country has seen a wave of deadly protests against President William Ruto and police brutality that have left dozens dead and thousands of businesses destroyed. Rights groups have criticised the government's heavy-handed response, including the recent use of terrorism charges against protesters. Mwangi was detained on Saturday and accused by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations with the "facilitation of terrorist acts", which he denied, declaring in an image on X: "I am not a terrorist". He appeared in a Nairobi court on Monday chanting "Ruto Must Go". His charge sheet, seen by AFP, accused him of "possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas cannisters without lawful authority", as well as a single round of blank ammunition. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a one million shilling (around $7,000) bail bond. "The truth is our president is scared of young people, because young people are organising by themselves, they are going to the streets, they are demanding better," Mwangi told supporters and journalists outside the court. "Our president thinks people are being paid to go to the streets, and they think I am the financer. "People hate Ruto for free," he said. A coalition of rights groups welcomed the court's decision to drop the terrorism charges, but said they remained "deeply concerned" by the use "in more than 100 other cases". It urged authorities to "abandon this dangerous approach to managing public dissent". Mwangi's detention over the weekend triggered significant online condemnation under the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi. The search warrant police used to raid his home and office accused the campaigner of paying "goons" to stoke unrest at protests last month. Mwangi has been arrested multiple times in Kenya. He was also detained in May in neighbouring Tanzania where he was attending the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire say they were tortured and sexually abused while in the custody of Tanzanian police before being returned to their respective countries. The pair brought a case against the Kenyan, Tanzanian and Ugandan governments to the East African Court of Justice last week. Mass protests initially broke out in Kenya in June 2024 over tax rises, and reignited last month over police violence and illegal detentions. Rights groups say more than 100 people have been killed by police in the latest round of protests, while the government puts the figure at 42.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kenya activist gets bail after arrest over illegal possession of ammunition
A prominent Kenyan human rights activist has been freed on bail after he was charged with unlawful possession of ammunition over his alleged role in deadly antigovernment protests in June. Boniface Mwangi was charged by the police on Monday, two days after he was arrested and accused of possessing unused tear gas canisters, a '7.62mm blank round', two mobile phones, a laptop and notebooks. The courtroom was packed with hundreds of activists, some wearing Kenyan flags. 'They have no evidence,' Mwangi told reporters, describing his prosecution as 'a big shame'. His lawyer told Reuters news agency he was grateful to the court for agreeing to release Mwangi on bail. Kenya has been facing mass antigovernment protests across the country since last year – first against tax increases in a finance bill and later to demand the resignation of President William Ruto. Since the protests broke out, police have been accused of human rights abuses, including allegations of government critics and activists being abducted and groups said more than 100 people have been killed in the protests, which have been harshly suppressed. This month, at least 31 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a government crackdown on a protest. In June, at least 19 people were killed in a similar demonstration against Ruto. Police accused Mwangi, a former photojournalist, of 'facilitating terrorist acts' during the June protests and arrested him on Saturday. The activist denied the charges, saying in a social media post shared by his supporters: 'I am not a terrorist.' His arrest triggered a wave of condemnation online with the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi going viral and rights groups condemning it. The search warrant police used to raid Mwangi's home, which an ally shared with journalists, accused the campaigner of having paid 'goons' to stoke unrest at last month's protests. However, 37 rights organisations and dozens of activists said they have not yet managed to prove that a judge had issued that warrant. Mwangi's arrest on 'unjustified terrorism allegations' represents an abuse of the justice system to crush the opposition, the organisations said in a joint statement. 'What began as targeted persecution of young protesters demanding accountability has metastasized into a full-scale assault on Kenya's democracy,' the groups said. In June last year, Al Jazeera's digital documentary strand Close Up profiled Mwangi during a ferocious police crackdown. He then said his nickname online was the 'People's Watchman' because he was striving to get justice for the families of protesters killed by who once ran for parliament on an anti-corruption platform, has been arrested multiple times in Kenya. He was arrested on May 19 this year in Dar-es-Salaam, neighbouring Tanzania's largest city, where he had travelled to support treason-accused Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu. Both Mwangi and a fellow detainee, award-winning Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire, accused the Tanzanian police of torturing and sexually abusing them while they were in custody. The pair have brought a case before the East African Court of Justice.
