Boniface Mwangi freed on Sh1 million bond as prosecution amends charges
Activist Boniface Mwangi has been freed on a Sh1 million bond after he was today charged with unlawful possession of Teargas canisters without lawful authority and having ammunition without a valid firearm certificate.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Gideon Kiage, Mwangi’s charges were changed from facilitation of terrorism, as had been recommended by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI)
“The accused person may be set at liberty upon securing a personal bond of Sh1 million with one authority of a similar amount,” Kiage said in his ruling.
Mwangi pleaded not guilty to the charges.
This is even as his advocates have requested the transfer of the case to Milimani Law Courts since the charges are not for terrorism.
Mwangi is accused of having one 7.62mm blank round and three unused teargas canisters, which were recovered during a search conducted at his Hurlingham-based office, Mageuzi Hub.
The changes in the charge sheet come just a day after the DCI released a statement explaining the circumstances surrounding Mwangi’s arrest over the weekend.
According to the DCI, Mwangi was apprehended at his Lukenya residence in Machakos County in connection with the facilitation of terrorist activities during the June 25 protests.
Over the weekend, the activist’s legal team and his supporters cast doubt on both the legality of the searches and the authenticity of the evidence presented during a press briefing at Pangani Police Station.
Mwangi’s lawyer, Njanja Maina said the search warrant presented by the officers only authorized entry to his office and not his Lukenya home.
The activist’s wife, Njeri Mwangi, said the arrest did not come as a surprise given the current wave of politically motivated detentions.
Mwanase Ahmed, an activist at Mageuzi Hub who witnessed the arrest, described it as a coordinated raid with the clear intention to intimidate.
His arrest has triggered sharp condemnation from civil society organizations, legal experts, and political figures, who accuse the government of misusing anti-terrorism laws to criminalise peaceful dissent and suppress civic freedoms.
Activists have accused the DCI of being used to settle political scores and silence dissenting voices.
“The DCI and the National Police Service (NPS), when will this campaign of intimidation and harassment stop? You openly walk with militia, but arrest law-abiding citizens?” People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua questioned.
