Activist Boniface Mwangi Monday April 21 alleged he was violently assaulted by police officers at his Sema Ukweli office in Nairobi on claims he was making noise.
The incident happened on the night of April 2, 2025 before he was to fly out of the country.
More serious was that he was assaulted at the station cells.
In a detailed account shared on his social media account, Mwangi claimed that at around 9:30pm that fateful day, three officers arrived at his office, ostensibly to respond to a noise complaint.
According to him, one of the officers, who he alleged was intoxicated and chewing miraa, began physically harassing him and his colleagues upon entry.
“I tried to ask the senior officer why someone who appeared to be drunk was on duty and armed, and that’s when all hell broke loose,” Mwangi said.
“A scuffle broke out, and the officer attempted to cock his gun to shoot me, but a colleague intervened.”
He further alleged that the officers handcuffed him aggressively, causing injuries to his hands and wrists, and dragged him out of his office in front of colleagues and neighbours.
“They pulled me so hard the handcuffs tore into my skin, and eventually fell off.
None of the officers bothered to pick up the handcuffs, and one of my colleagues picked them.
We still have them,” he stated.
Mwangi also said he was assaulted again at the police station, stating that one officer struck him in the ribs with the butt of a gun and later followed him into the cell to continue the attack.
“He rained blows on me while another officer held me down.
I only got relief when my colleagues outside the station began screaming and demanding they stop beating me,” he said.
He said he was later taken to a Nairobi hospital under police escort, on April 3, 2025, after a police boss found him in writhing pain.
“I was put on pain medication and underwent several procedures to assess the extent of my injuries.
Fortunately, there were no fractures, but I had visible injuries on my wrists, knee, lip, left ribs and left eye,” Mwangi explained.
Mwangi reported the alleged assault and claimed he informed the police boss about the officers leaving their handcuffs behind.
He said the boss told him the officers who had been involved in his arrest were sleeping, and he would speak to them later and get back to him.
“I was released on a Sh5,000 police bond. The boss requested that I don’t publicise my assault as the case was under investigation,”he said.
The activist also said during his arrest, his watch and AirPods were taken and have not been returned.
“The officers later sent an emissary to urge me not to share images of my injuries or CCTV footage of the incident,” he claimed.
There was no immediate comment from the police at Kilimani police station. Officials at the Independent Policing Authority said they are investigating the claims.
IPOA plans to take action on the individual officers and the commanders.
This is his statement;
“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.
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.
We still have them.
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.
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.
l 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.
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.”
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.
The three violent police officers sent an emissary to ask me not to post images of the assault, or even share the CCTV footage that captured the incident.
I agreed not to post.
l was scheduled to fly out of the country later that evening, as I was travelling for work to Brazil and Ghana.
Knowing the police lie all the time, l reported my assault to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) before l left the country, because you can never fully trust our police.
I was right to do so because even after the police begged me not to post about my ordeal, they quietly decided to file charges against me.
On 7th April 2025, the police went to Kibera Law Court without informing me and filed “offensive conduct and assault” charges in my absence.
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.
I was assaulted by the police, physically injured, had my watch and AirPods stolen by them, and I’m the one being charged with a crime?
I got my first black eye at the age of 41 at the hands of a drunk officer.”
