Boniface Mwangi locked up at Kamukunji Police Station after arrest

Rights activist Boniface Mwangi has been locked up at Kamukunji Police Station in Nairobi after he was arrested in a raid on his home on Sunday morning.

His wife Njeri Mwangi and fellow activists had earlier reported that the blogger and photojournalist was roughed up and driven out of his home in Machakos County, popularly known as Courage Base, at 7am. 

"This morning, at around 7.15, six uninformed people went to Courage Base and forcefully took my husband @bonifacemwangi from the house. I have no idea who, why or where they have taken him," Njeri wrote on X. 

Rights activist and Vocal Africa Chief Executive Hussein Khalid tweeted: “Just received reliable information that @bonifacemwangi has been abducted by unknown persons (probably sleuths from @DCI_Kenya) and taken to an unknown destination. He was picked (up) from his family home In Ukambani (Courage Base) around 7am."

The Nation has established that the blogger was driven to Kamukunji, some 35 kilometres from where he was arrested, with police said to have “carefully selected” his detention centre to ward off chaos from his supporters and followers.

“We followed some intel we got and traced Boni (Mr Mwangi) to Kamukunji Police Station. He is with his lawyer inside the station,” he said. 

The arrest comes after Mr Mwangi ran an online campaign dubbed “OccupyStanchart” where he urged his followers to show up in large numbers and use Standard Charted Nairobi Marathon 2024 to air their grievances against the government. 

“Will you show up to cheer friends at the Standard Chartered marathon? You are a crucial part of the race; your cheering will motivate and energise the athletes and help reform our country in the process,” he posted on X on October 26, 2024.

He then went on to give directives on how those who would take part in the marathon should dress and conduct themselves. 

The followers were instructed to carry Kenya’s national flag as part of their sports gear, wear hats with national colours, wear bandanas with the message #RutoMustGo as well as record their chants and share online.  

“Bring a placard with your message to (President William) Ruto, record your protest message and post online, adopt the Kahongo song as your marathon chant. Record any incidents of police brutality towards spectators and share online. Stay calm and peaceful and have fun!” he posted.

Read: Stripped, chained and whipped: Kitengela brothers on 32-day torture ordeal

He said the #OccupyStanChart protest would be to honour victims of police brutality in recent protests that led the death of over 60 people.

Mr Mwangi’s lawyer said police planned to charge him with incitement to violence.

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 of 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.

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.