Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi, on a couple of occasions, has faced off against government officials.
However, in the latest episode of Cleaning The Airwaves (CTA) released on July 4, Boniface shares how the General Service Unit (GSU) positively impacted his upbringing.
While he and his mother were living in Ngara, Nairobi, trying to make ends meet, they were evicted from their household.
However, they were assigned a place to live at the GSU camp located in Ruaraka thanks to a pastor, whom he refers to as Pastor Ndwiga, who was a senior GSU officer.
Boniface further narrates how he used to watch police officers at work during that young age. "I grew up seeing police officers up close," stated Boniface.
Their stay at Ruaraka also later helped him on transit to Pangani School through the GSU trucks which took off in the wee hours of the morning.
"In the morning, the GSU trucks used to drop people along the way. In the evening, if you stopped the army truck they would recognize you either as a child of an officer or as a soldier hence carrying you," commented Boniface Mwangi.
He continues stating that his dad was a District Officer and one of his sister's dad was an inspector.
Boniface was featured on the latest episode of CTA, a show founded by former Gospel Musician Richard Njau that thrives on telling stories of greatness. The show has featured personalities such as Bien-Aime Baraza (member of Sauti Sol), Eric Wainaina, Gina Din and many more.
Despite conceding defeat to popular musician Charles Kanyi (Jaguar) in 2017 for the Starehe Parliamentary seat, he has received success in two different fields including journalism and activism.
Mwangi is known for his photos of the post-election violence that rocked Kenya in 2007–2008. He has twice won the CNN Multichoice Africa Photojournalist of the Year Award and is the youngest Prince Claus Laureate.
New African Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2014 and 2016 and he is also a senior TED Fellow. Time magazine recognized him as a Next Generation Leader in 2015 and he was selected as Kenya’s Top 40 under 40 men in 2016.
