Leaders, activists demand Boniface Mwangi's release

 

A group comprising human rights defenders, political leaders and lawyers have condemned the arrest of activist Boniface Mwangi.

Mwangi was on Sunday traced to Kamkunji police station in Nairobi hours after he was picked up from his Machakos home.

Human rights defenders and lawyers led by Narc Kenya Party leader Martha Karua have called for his unconditional release.

In a statement on Sunday read by Karua, the group said they are united to resist the oppression of Kenyans.

They said Mwangi is a man who has courageously dedicated his life to defending the rights and freedoms of all Kenyans.

“This targeting of activists, journalists and youth is a direct assault on the principles of equality, justice and freedom embedded in Kenya's Constitution. Kenya must not be a place where families live in fear that loved ones may be taken in the dead of night, never to return,” Karua said.

She was flanked by former UNCTAD secretary general Mukhisa Kituyi, former CJ Willy Mutunga, former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando and rights and Muslims for Human Right Board member, Khelef Khalifa.

“The right to life and liberty enshrined in our constitution must be upheld - not selectively, not conditionally, but absolutely," the group said.

"We unequivocally state that the government must take full responsibility of the safety and wellbeing of comrade Boniface Mwangi and indeed all the disappearances and extrajudicial killings happening in Kenya especially since the June, 2024, Gen Z protests.”

Karua said that the constitution protects all citizens from arbitrary arrest and detention adding that the violation of the protections is to violate the very foundation of the state's legitimacy.

The Narc Kenya Party leader said they are demanding the unconditional release of Mwangi and all others detained unlawfully.

The group said there should be an end to extrajudicial abductions as they are unconstitutional and illegal under Kenyan law, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Such actions constitute 'disappearances' and can be tried as crimes against humanity in international courts,” they said.

They demanded impartial investigations into extrajudicial abductions and killings and a full prosecution of those involved.

“In light of Kenya's obligations as a signatory to the African Charter and other human rights treaties, we call on the African Union, the United Nations and regional bodies to bring oversight to this matter, ensuring accountability for abuses of power.”

Karua and her team called on Kenyans to step up and be each other's keeper and protect one another as necessary.

“We call upon every Kenyan, every person of conscience and every believer in justice to stand united in resistance, demanding the preservation of our rights, our dignity and our humanity. Let us be reminded that without accountability, there can be no freedom.” 

They said abductions, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial executions are targeted at those who raise their voices and are aimed at silencing them.

They called on local and international actors to intervene and ensure freedoms and rights of those agitating for any form of change are protected.

“We are notifying the KNCHR which has a mandate to investigate, the Jumuiya, African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR), the African Union Commission Peace and security, African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat, UN Human rights and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and local and international media,” they said.

by PERPETUA ETYANG