Renowned activist Boniface Mwangi was on Tuesday, July 7, arrested while protesting over the Saba Saba march that turned chaotic in Nairobi.
According to initial reports, the activist had made his way to the Central Police Station looking to help free Saba Saba protestors, leading to his arrest.
"Police everywhere, hiding with Sankara Kinuthia somewhere in the CBD. Police have decided to violate the constitution and target active citizens for Saba Saba march," reads a section of his last tweet.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, via text, Mwangi confirmed that he had been taken into custody while agitating for the release of the protestors who were rounded up during the city protests.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed during the protests as the police lobbed teargas to disperse the crowd that had made its way to Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD).
Mwangi joins his fellow activist from Kibra, Editar Achieng' who was also apprehended by the police earlier on in the day.
Kenyans have always marked Saba Saba Day (July 7); in remembrance of the day when protesters in Kenya successfully demanded for multiparty democracy in 1990.
Extensive riots sparked off in Nairobi and sveral other towns in the countryduring the first week of July 1990.
The protests were reportedly ignited in June 1990, when the government under the late President Daniel Arap Moi turned a deaf ear to mounting criticism against government corruption and rejected the rallying cry to restore Kenya to a multiparty democracy.
The struggle against his government hit a new peak on July 7, 1990, when two former Cabinet ministers Kenneth Matiba and Charles Rubia called a public rally at the historic Kamukunji grounds, in Nairobi, to press for comprehensive constitutional and political reforms, leading to the historic protests.
Over the years, the day has been occassioned with several activities among them pushing for better living conditions from the government.
