Boniface Mwangi lashes out at IG Kanja over police wearing masks

Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja of openly defying a court directive that barred police officers from wearing masks while enforcing the law.

In a post shared on his verified X account on Monday, July 7, 2025, Mwangi criticised the two state officers after reports surfaced indicating that at least ten youths had been arrested by police officers wearing masks and hoods in the streets of Nairobi.

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According to a report Mwangi also shared, the youths were rounded up during the Saba Saba protest anniversary demonstrations, which have seen heightened tension across the capital.

“Interior Security Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and Inspector General of Police Kanja have decided that police will not obey a court order,” Mwangi said.

Mwangi spoke bitterly about Murkomen and his counterpart, stating that it was high time the Law Society of Kenya, which had previously condemned their actions, moved to court to hold them accountable, as it appeared they were unwilling to learn or uphold the law.

“The Law Society of Kenya must return to court to hold these lawbreakers accountable. This lawlessness must stop.”

Mwangi’s statement came hot on the heels of heightened efforts by police to restrict youth and protesters from accessing the Nairobi Central Business District, which has long been the epicentre of demonstrations.

Videos circulating online captured officers erecting roadblocks and frisking individuals attempting to enter the city centre, even as protests began to gain momentum in surrounding areas outside the CBD.

Mwangi to Raila

In a similar statement issued on the same day, Mwangi breathed fire on former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, stating that he has lost both the credibility and the moral authority to lead any public protests in Kenya.

Mwangi acknowledged Odinga’s historic role in Kenya’s pro-democracy struggles but accused him of betraying that legacy over the decades.

“Raila Odinga claims to be the father of Saba Saba. We won’t dispute that, but since the 1980s, he has shifted from liberator to traitor,” he said.

Additionally, he stated that Odinga’s former comrades, jailed, tortured, and exiled for championing multiparty democracy, still have unresolved court-awarded compensation claims that successive governments have ignored.

According to Mwangi, Odinga has never prioritised justice or reparations for those who suffered alongside him.

Odinga

Mwangi also took issue with Odinga’s political alliances, accusing him of negotiating power and privileges with the same regimes responsible for the deaths and disappearances of his supporters.

“He has lost many supporters in street protests since the 1990s but never made their justice and compensation a condition for joining the governments of Moi, Kibaki, Uhuru, and Ruto,” he said.

Mwangi argued that Odinga has lost control of the streets, with a new generation of bold and digitally savvy Gen Z activists leading a fresh wave of protests, independent of traditional political figures.

He further alleged that the ODM Party’s recent move to have MP Esther Passaris table a bill to restrict demonstrations reflects the party’s fear of a rising, uncontrollable protest movement.

“The old man has lost credibility, respect, and the monopoly on calling protests, as courageous Gen Zs now own the streets. ODM has instructed Passaris to introduce a bill to ban protests because Raila has lost his street protest negotiation power. Today, Raila Odinga dines with those who abduct and kill us,” he said.