Activist Boniface Mwangi and four others freed on cash bail

Activist Boniface Mwangi and four others who were detained on accusation of incitement to violence have been released on a cash bail of Sh20,000 each.

The police were seeking to detain them for 21 days in order to complete investigations.

State prosecutor Judy Koech said they were arrested on July 25, 2024, on Koinange Street, Nairobi, where they allegedly caused a breach of peace and inconvenienced other road users by blocking the road by placing a white coffin and seven white crosses with the names of people killed by police during anti-government demonstrations.

"The suspects had posted allegations on various social media platforms that the government was out to kill its citizens. The said words were deemed and construed to mean that the government was carrying out extrajudicial killings," said Mr Koech.

The prosecutor told Senior Principal Magistrate Gilbert Shikwe that the social media posts had incited members of the public, thereby causing a breach of the peace.

She asked for 21 days to allow the police to complete their investigations.

Defence lawyers opposed the application and asked that Mwangi, Robert Otieno, Albert Wambugu, Pablo Chacha and Erot Franco be released on bond.

They said there were no compelling reasons to keep them in custody for 21 days as their mobile phones had been confiscated by the police.