Why police are holding activist Boniface Mwangi

Details have emerged on what police are investigating on activist Boniface Mwangi.

Police are investigating Mwangi for a string of alleged serious offences, including terrorism, robbery with violence, arson, incitement to violence, and money laundering.

His wife and lawyers say the investigations also involve terrorism-related allegations. Mwangi has dismissed the accusations, calling them political persecution.

A search warrant issued by a Nairobi Magistrate’s Court on July 17 authorised detectives from the DCI’s Serious Crimes Unit to raid Mwangi’s home in Lukenya, Machakos County.

Officers were cleared to seize documents, electronic devices, safes, money, and any other materials relevant to their investigations.

Mwangi was picked up from his home on Saturday and taken to his Ngong Road office for further searches before being detained at Pangani police station.

He is expected in court on Monday, July 21.

Human rights defenders have condemned the move, with the hashtag #ActivistsAreNotTerrorists trending online. Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah demanded Mwangi’s immediate release.

“Arresting a Kenyan for peacefully expressing dissent is a gross abuse of power and a direct violation of Articles 33, 37, and 49 of the Constitution,” Omtatah said.

“The misuse of anti-terror laws to target activists is not only unlawful but dangerous.”

Mwangi is among several individuals targeted over their involvement in the nationwide anti-government protests held on June 25 and July 7.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen recently said over 1,500 people have been arrested in connection with the demonstrations, with 50 under investigation by the Serious Crimes Unit and 71 others facing anti-terror probes.

He commended security agencies for foiling further destruction, arguing the operation was made possible through timely intelligence, which revealed plans to target critical infrastructure, including transport systems.

“Intelligence-led operations across various countries have resulted in the arrest of individuals believed to be the masterminds, financiers, instigators, and direct perpetrators of these criminal acts, including those responsible for incitement to violence and politically motivated mobilisation intended to stoke public unrest.”

Mwangi has also filed a case at the East African Court of Justice alongside Ugandan journalist Agather Atuhaire.

They are seeking redress for what they describe as unlawful arrest and deportation while attempting to attend the treason trial of Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu in May.

The suit, filed as reference No. 21 of 2025, follows a sequence of events on May 18–19, 2025, when Atuhaire and Mwangi travelled to Dar es Salaam as part of a larger delegation of journalists, lawyers, and activists from across the East African region intending to observe Lissu’s treason trial.

The petition names the governments of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the EAC Secretary General.

Police maintain the arrests are based on credible intelligence about planned attacks on critical infrastructure.

Mwangi and his supporters insist the crackdown is an attempt to silence dissent.