A prominent Kenyan human rights activist has been charged with unlawful possession of ammunition over his alleged role in deadly antigovernment protests in June.
Boniface Mwangi was charged by the police on Monday, two days after he was arrested and accused of possessing unused tear gas canisters, a “7.62mm blank round”, two mobile phones, a laptop and notebooks.
Kenya has been facing mass antigovernment protests across the country since last year – first against tax increases in a finance bill and later to demand the resignation of President William Ruto.
Since the protests broke out, police have been accused of human rights abuses, including allegations of government critics and activists being abducted and tortured.
Rights groups said more than 100 people have been killed in the protests, which have been harshly suppressed.
This month, at least 31 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a government crackdown on a protest. In June, at least 19 people were killed in a similar demonstration against Ruto.
Police accused Mwangi, a former photojournalist, of “facilitating terrorist acts” during the June protests and arrested him on Saturday. The activist denied the charges, saying in a social media post shared by his supporters: “I am not a terrorist.”
His arrest triggered a wave of condemnation online with the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi going viral and rights groups condemning it.
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