House bombing: Court sentences activist Boniface Mwangi, gags him in Alfred Mutua case
Firebrand Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has been gagged by the Machakos High Court from making any statements regarding the bombing of his family home in Machakos County in which he implicated Dr Alfred Mutua, the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife.
The High Court, on November 1, 2023, sentenced Mr Mwangi to serve two months in jail of pay a fine of Sh 300,000 for contempt of court in the defamation case filed by CS Mutua.
“I have been found guilty of contempt of court. Sentenced to two months in prison or pay a fine of Ksh 300,000. The gag order was extended to January 2024. I can no longer post who bombed our home. Water is wet, the pope is Catholic, and everyone knows who bombed our home. #SemaUkweli,” said Mr Mwangi following the sentencing.
Among those who accompanied Mr Mwangi to court were Azimio’s Martha Karua, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga and musician Juliani.
Prior to the sentencing, Mr Mwangi had been posting on social media about not being afraid of the consequences of speaking the truth, still accusing CS Mutua of bombing his home and sending armed goons to assault his employees.
“Looking forward to attending court on 1st November 2023 in Machakos. The Judiciary wants to send me to civil jail because I asked who bombed out home. He did it! We gave the Directorate of Criminal Investigations the evidence. I know he did it, DCI knows it too,” claimed Mr Mwangi a day ago.
In another post yesterday, he went on to say, “Kenya’s justice system is in tatters. Tomorrow, I shall appear at the Machakos High Court for sentencing. The court thinks I’ guilty of speaking the truth. Looking forward to whatever the judge decides because I stand by what I said. Every single word! #SemaUkweli.”
With the gag order, he can no longer publicly comment about this case in the public space.
Mr Mwangi claimed CS Mutua bombed his family home while he was the governor of Machakos County. The incident occurred after CS Mutua and his estranged long-term partner, Lilian Nganga, had a messy, publicized breakup and Ms Nganga began dating Mr Mwangi’s close friend, musician Juliani. They are married today and share a son.
During the breakup drama, Mr Mwangi often rubbed it in Dr Mutua’s face that his ex was now in a happy relationship where she was not being controlled. At one point, news from the trio’s camp emerged that Dr Mutua had been trying to woo Ms Nganga back with financial promises but when this failed, he began threatening her and adversely possessing her property to frustrate her.
At the height of the drama, Boniface Mwangi then announced that his family home had been bombed and he pointed fingers at Dr Mutua.
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