A Nairobi magistrate has tossed out terrorism counts against outspoken activist Boniface Mwangi, leaving him to answer two far less serious allegations linked to a single blank round and three teargas canisters.
Mwangi spent the weekend at Pangani Police Station after detectives whisked him from his Lukenya home on Saturday, accusing him of “facilitating terrorist acts” during recent anti-government protests. Rights groups blasted the arrest as heavy-handed, and by Monday morning prosecutors had quietly dropped the terror file.
Inside the Kahawa Law Courts, Magistrate Gedion Kiage read the new charge sheet aloud. Count one claimed the former photojournalist held “three teargas cannisters without lawful authority.” Count two alleged possession of “one round of 7.62×51 mm blank ammunition without lawful authority.”
Mwangi’s lawyer, Njanja Maina, dismissed the claims. “We confirm and state with no uncertainty that those are things that Boniface Mwangi did not have in his possession,” she told reporters outside the station, vowing a vigorous defence.
Kiage released the activist on a personal bond of Ksh1 million, setting mention for August 19. Prosecutors offered no explanation for the sudden downgrade, but human-rights monitors said public outrage over the terrorism label forced their hand.
Police insist the weekend raid yielded laptops, hard drives, cheque books and company seals they believe financed June’s nationwide demonstrations, where dozens died in clashes with security officers.
Mwangi, a perennial thorn in the side of Kenyan administrations, brushed off the allegations on social media, writing, “I am not a terrorist.”
