Lobbyist Boniface Mwangi to face terrorism charges as DCI faces criticism
Activist Boniface Mwangi will today be arraigned at the Kahawa Law Courts on terrorism-related charges following his arrest over the weekend and spending two nights at the Pangani Police Station in Nairobi.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) confirmed Mwangi’s arrest at his home (Courage Base) in Machakos via a post on its official social media accounts, stating that the activist was being held “in connection with the facilitation of terrorist activities during the June 25, 2025, protests.”
According to the DCI, officers recovered two mobile phones, a laptop, and several notebooks from Mwangi’s residence.
They shared that a subsequent search at his Mageuzi Hub office in Nairobi, allegedly led to the seizure of nine external hard drives, two laptops, company seals belonging to Brave Media Limited and Courage Limited, a company stamp, six cheque books, stamp duty documents, two unused tear gas canisters, and a blank 7.62mm round.
The activist’s legal team and his supporters have since disparaged the DCI’s action questioning 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 criminalize 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 has questioned.
