Activist Boniface Mwangi assaulted while in police custody
Activist Boniface Mwangi has shared his encounter with rogue police officers who allegedly assaulted him while in custody at the Kilimani Police Station
Activist Boniface Mwangi has shared his encounter with rogue police officers who allegedly assaulted him while in custody at the Kilimani Police Station on Wednesday, April 2.
In a statement on Monday, April 21, Mwangi recounted the incident that happened in the presence of his colleagues at Sema Ukweli offices.
He narrated that the encounter turned violent when he confronted an armed officer who was intoxicated.
“At around 9:30 pm on 2nd April, 2025, three police officers, namely Inspector Stanley Yano, Sergeant Osman Omar, and Constable Robert Ouko, arrived at our Sema Ukweli office claiming they were responding to an alleged noise complaint.
“Constable Robert Ouko, who was drunk and chewing miraa, started roughing us up as soon as he got into the office. I tried to ask the senior officer at the scene, Inspector Stanley Yano, why Ouko was working and carrying a firearm while intoxicated and chewing miraa. That’s when all hell broke loose, and a scuffle ensued. Ouko tried cocking his gun to shoot me but one of my colleagues pushed his gun away,” he stated.
Mwangi alleges that what followed was a violent arrest, during which he was physically assaulted.
“The three police officers then handcuffed and dragged me out of my office, while assaulting me. They pulled me so hard that the handcuffs wounded my hands and wrists until they came off and fell to the ground.
None of the officers bothered to pick up the handcuffs, and one of my colleagues picked them up. We still have them,” he added.
According to Mwangi, the assault continued as he was being transported to the police station and after being booked.
The 41-year-old noted that it took the intervention of his colleagues who had followed him to the station for the assault to stop.
“As they violently loaded me into the police vehicle, right in front of my colleagues and neighbours, Ouko hit me very hard on the ribs with the butt of his gun. After we arrived at the police station, and l was thrown into the police cell, Ouko followed me inside and assaulted me some more.
“He rained blows on me as another fellow officer held me down. It was only my screams that saved me because my colleagues who had followed the police car started screaming at the police officers, demanding that they stop beating me,” he noted.
Mwangi says he received medical attention the following morning after the station’s Officer Commanding Station (OCS) intervened.
“In the early morning hours of 3rd April, 2025, the Kilimani OCS, Albert Chebii, found me writhing in pain and ordered that l be taken to the hospital. I was driven to Nairobi Hospital under armed escort and immediately put on pain medication after arrival.
“I underwent a few procedures, including X-rays to check my ribs, a head scan, and an ultrasound to check for internal injuries that I might have sustained in the cells when Ouko punched my body where my kidneys are located. Luckily, I had no fractures. I sustained injuries on my wrists, knee, had a busted lip, and had a lot of pain on my left ribs where Ouko had hit me with a gun butt. I could also barely see through my left eye,” he recalled.
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Following medical treatment, Mwangi said he was returned to the police station, where he filed an official complaint shortly before his release.
“After the hospital visit, l was discharged and escorted back to Kilimani Police Station. I was now under pain medication and able to narrate my ordeal to the OCS. I reported my assault under OB No. 84/02/04/25. I even informed him that his officers left their handcuffs behind.
“He told me all the officers who had been involved in my arrest were sleeping, and he would speak to them later and get back to me. I was released on a Ksh 5,000 police bond. The OCS requested that I don’t publicize my assault as the case was ‘under investigation,” he further stated.
Mwangi also reported missing personal items after the arrest, stating, “During the violent arrest, one of the officers took my watch during the scuffle. When we got to the Police Station, they searched my pockets and took my AirPods. The two items are yet to be returned.”
Notably, even after making a complaint, Mwangi said the officers went to Kibera Law Court, where they filed charges against him in his absence.
The activist said that despite being outside the country on the date set for plea-taking, the magistrate issued a warrant of arrest against him for failing to attend court.
“My lawyer rushed to court to state that I had travelled, and the court set 15th April 2025 as the date for plea-taking. The magistrate was informed that l was out of the country for work and provided evidence of my invitation letter, air tickets, and exit stamps in court.
“The court still proceeded to issue a warrant of arrest against me because I failed to attend court on that day, and went on to set 22nd April 2025 as the new date for taking plea,” he noted.
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