Khalwale throws Boniface Mwangi under the bus, defends deported lawyers
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has defended the deported Kenyan legal delegation from Tanzania – but distanced himself from one of its most outspoken members, activist Boniface Mwangi, in remarks that quickly drew attention across East Africa.
Khalwale’s comments came in the wake of sharp criticism from Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu, who accused visiting Kenyan and Ugandan activists of attempting to sow discord during a court session involving Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu.
“We have seen activists from other countries trying to interfere with our country. They shouldn’t come here if they have been stopped at their country. They have already disrupted and damaged their own countries. Our country remains the only peaceful and secure nation in the region and I will not allow them to come here and destroy it,” Suluhu said during a public event on Monday, May 19, 2025.
The President’s remarks followed the detention and deportation of several East African activists and legal professionals who had travelled to Dar es Salaam for Lissu’s case, including former Kenyan Justice Minister Martha Karua, ex-Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, and others.
Reacting via social media on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Khalwale mounted a defense of the legal delegation.
“No Madam President @SuluhuSamia, the people in question are respected legal minds who were perfectly in order to move their labour across the border,” the senator posted on X, referring to the group’s right to participate in judicial observation under East African regional protocols.
But Khalwale was quick to draw a line between the lawyers and Boniface Mwangi, a human rights campaigner and frequent critic of authoritarianism in the region.
“However, we must apologise for the presence of one by the name of Bonface Mwangi. Forgive him, pengine [perhaps] he came to buy vitenge,” Khalwale quipped, referring to the popular East African fabric.
“Let East Africa thrive in the vision of Presidents Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta and Milton Obote,” he added.
Mwangi, a former photojournalist turned activist, had posted a video on Monday night claiming harassment by plainclothes Tanzanian officers who appeared outside his hotel room.
He was arrested hours later and deported on Tuesday.
The President of the Tanganyika Law Society (TLS), Boniface Mwabukusi, confirmed Mwangi’s deportation in an official statement.
“Boniface Mwangi, a Kenyan journalist and human rights activist, and Ms. Agatha Atuhaire, a Ugandan journalist and advocate, who were detained at the Central Police Station in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, since 19th May 2025, have been deported to their respective countries,” Mwabukusi said.
The Tanzanian government has not publicly explained why Mwangi and Atuhaire were targeted, though both had a history of political activism and vocal support for democratic movements across East Africa.
Boniface Mwangi’s wife on Tuesday raised concerns over what she described as targeted harassment following her husband’s detention in Tanzania.
The incident has rekindled tensions around freedom of movement and expression in the East African Community, raising questions about whether the bloc’s stated commitments to regional integration and civic participation are being upheld.
Khalwale’s remarks may reflect a broader unease among Kenyan political elites about Mwangi’s confrontational style, even as they stand behind other members of the legal profession who were similarly affected by the Tanzanian government’s actions.
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Martin Oduor
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