Renowned journalist and activist Boniface Mwangi has revealed he almost lost his life on April 2 when three police officers came to his Sema Ukweli offices and unleashed a beating after a scuffle broke out.
In his official X account on Monday, April 21, Boni, as he is popularly known, claimed that the incident, which involved three officers from the Kilimani Police Station, happened on the night of Wednesday, April 2.
According to Mwangi, the three officers approached him in his office, saying they were responding to an alleged noise complaint. One of the officers, who Mwangi claims was drunk and was chewing miraa, started roughing him up and, at some point, even attempted to shoot him with his firearm.
"I tried to ask the senior officer at the scene why the officer was working and carrying a firearm while intoxicated and chewing miraa. That’s when all hell broke loose, and a scuffle ensued," he narrated.
Mwangi was then handcuffed by the officers and roughly dragged out of the office and loaded into the police car, and again, the same officer who had assaulted him in the office went ahead and hit him on the ribs using his gun.
"They pulled me so hard that the handcuffs wounded my hands and wrists until they came off and fell to the ground. None of the officers bothered to pick up the handcuffs, and one of my colleagues picked them up. We still have them," he said.
After arriving at the Kilimani Police Station, the intoxicated officer is said to have followed him into his cell and continued the assault, allegedly hitting the activist while being held down by another officer.
Mwangi claims that his screams attracted the attention of his colleagues, who had followed him to the police station and who demanded that the officer stop beating him.
The next day, the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) heard Mwangi's cries and arranged for him to be taken to Nairobi Hospital for checks. While he had no internal injuries, he had wounds on his wrists and knee, a busted lip, and pain in his ribs.
"I was driven to Nairobi Hospital under armed escort and immediately put on pain medication after arrival. I underwent a few procedures, including X-rays to check my ribs, a head scan, and an ultrasound to check for internal injuries that I might have sustained in the cells when Ouko punched my body where my kidneys are located. Luckily, I had no fractures," he said.
After being discharged and returned to the police station, Mwangi reported the incident and narrated the whole incident to the Kilimani OCS, who requested him not to publicise the incident and promised to take action against the officers responsible for his assault. Mwangi was then released on a Ksh5,000 police bond.
Mwangi further claims that the three police officers responsible for his assault later also asked him not to publicise the events in which he 'agreed'.
"The OCS requested that I not publicise my assault as the case was 'under investigation'," he said. He further says that the officers had taken his watch during his arrest and also his AirPods, which are yet to be recovered.
Not trusting the OCS's promise to take action, Mwangi also went ahead and reported my assault to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA).
According to Mwangi, the police went ahead and filed charges at the Kibera Law courts while he was out of the country and accused him of “offensive conduct and assault”.
Despite his absence, Mwangi claims that the court still issued an arrest warrant after he failed to attend court on the set day of the hearing. The court later set Tuesday, April 22, as the new date for taking a plea.
"My lawyer rushed to court to state that I had travelled, and the court set 15th April 2025 as the date for plea-taking. The magistrate was informed that I was out of the country for work and provided evidence of my invitation letter, air tickets, and exit stamps in court," he said.
