Activist Boniface Mwangi freed after night in police cell
Activist Boniface Mwangi.
Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has been released after spending the night in Kamukunji Police Station following his dramatic arrest on Sunday. police station.
Activist Hussein Khalid on Monday morning confirmed that Mr Mwangi was released without any charges being filed.
“I can confirm that @bonifacemwangi has been freed with no charges. Wife, children and friends were there during his release,” said Mr Khalid via X, formerly Twitter.
Mr Mwangi was received by his wife Njeri Mwangi, his children and NARC Leader Martha Karua, outside Kamukunji Police Station.
Activist Boniface Mwangi with his wife and children after he was released from Kamukunji Police Station.
On Sunday evening, Busia Senator and activist Okiya Omtatah, who visited Mr Mwangi in custody, confirmed that he was doing well.
“I’m happy to share that Mwangi is okay and in very high spirits! He is properly documented in both the Occurrence Book and the Cell Register. We’ve also managed to bring him food, as he hadn’t eaten since this morning.
“According to the Occurrence Book, he (Boniface Mwangi), faces accusations of inciting violence for simply expressing his views on social media in a country where free speech should be protected.
"This is a troubling situation for our democracy, and I want to emphasize that the weight of my Senate office stands behind him,” Senator Omtatah said on X.
Section 96 of the Penal Code deals with Incitement to violence and disobedience of the law.
It penalises any person who utters, prints, or publishes any words, or does any act which is calculated to bring death or physical injury to any person; or cause damage to any property; or to prevent by unlawful means the enforcement of any written law or to lead to disobedience of any such law, would be guilty and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.
Section 391 of the Penal Code criminalises the act of inciting others to commit an offence.
The section provides that any person who incites another to do any act of such nature that if the act were done an offence would thereby be committed, is guilty of an offence and would be liable to punishment.
Mr Mwangi's detention comes after he called for an anti-government protest at a marathon in the capital, on Sunday.
Mr Mwangi had been rallying people on X to demand the resignation of President William Ruto, using the hashtags #RutoMustGo and #OccupyStanChart, referring to the Standard Chartered Marathon, the official name of the race.
He urged people to dress in the colours of the national flag, wear bandanas tagged 'RutoMustGo' and share protest chants online.
"Stay calm and peaceful and have fun," he added.
The #OccupyStanChart protest, he said, would be to in honour of victims of police brutality in the GenZ protests that led to the death of over 50 people, according to data from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (Ipoa).
Several arrests
Mr Mwangi has been arrested and released several times for his activism.
Last month, human rights activists prevented police from arresting Mr Mwangi during a protest in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD).
Mr Mwangi was with other activists demanding justice for missing people when plainclothes officers pounced on him.
The group was marching to hand over the petition to the president's office at Harambee House when a team of police officers attempted to arrest Mr Mwangi.
