Activists Shield Boniface Mwangi from Arrest During Nairobi Protest

Human rights activists in Nairobi on Tuesday staged a powerful demonstration to prevent the arrest of prominent activist Boniface Mwangi in the city’s Central Business District.

The peaceful march, dubbed “Justice for Gen Z Mashujaas,” aimed to present a list of protesters allegedly abducted during recent anti-government demonstrations, particularly those associated with the Gen-Z movement. As the procession approached Harambee House, tensions escalated when police attempted to apprehend the activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi. In a widely circulated video, fellow activists formed a human shield around Mwangi, chanting “Leave him alone” and effectively blocking police efforts to detain him.

The demonstration was organized in response to perceived government inaction regarding the disappearances of individuals who had participated in earlier protests. For many Kenyan families, the anguish of missing relatives continues unabated, exacerbated by a lack of accountability from authorities. Earlier today, Mwangi had shared the protest poster on his social media account, emphasizing the urgency of their mission and echoing President William Ruto’s call for families to come forward with information about missing individuals.

“Any family whose child or kin went to the demonstrations, whether it is last year or this year and never came back, I want to know their names, so that I can take firm and decisive action,” President Ruto said in his address.

The backdrop to this demonstration includes unsettling reports of extrajudicial killings and violent crackdowns by state forces against protesters during the June and July demonstrations which had galvanized Kenya’s youth. President Ruto’s August 30 address, in which he claimed a lack of information regarding disappearances and called on families to provide details, had provoked outrage among activists and affected families still seeking closure. The recent release of the “Kitengela 3” after a month in captivity has further fueled concerns about the state of human rights in Kenya. Meanwhile, the National Police Service continues to deny involvement in these abductions.