Activist Boniface Mwangi announces interest in parliamentary seat

Renowned activist Boniface Mwangi has announced his entry into politics by expressing interest in Starehe Parliamentary seat in the 2017 General Election.

Mwangi, an avowed critic of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government, however, said he would rather vie for the seat as an independent candidate than join Jubilee or CORD.

“I am counting on your love, votes and financial support to become the next Starehe MP. Together we can do it,” stated Mwangi in his post on Twitter.

“(I will vie as an) independent or join a party that l can identify with. For the record Jubilee or CORD doesn’t speak for me, l won’t and l will NEVER join them.”

In a bid to speak up against alleged corruption in government, Mr Mwangi has held several protests in Nairobi including demonstration against Members of Parliaments over a plan to increase salaries in 2013, and most recently a push to have President Uhuru Kenyatta sack government officials linked to the Afya House scandal where Ksh3 billion was allegedly stolen.

Mwangi’s announcement is a turnaround from his early stand that he would not join politics.

The activist is currently locked in a court battle with Deputy President William Ruto who is suing him for defamation.

Through his lawyer, Kioko Kilukumi, Ruto argued that a tweet posted by Mwangi on September 28, 2016 (insinuating the DP’s involvement in the murder of Jacob Juma) was calculated to injure his reputation, discredit him and to cause him to be shunned and expose him to hatred contempt and ridicule.

The DP wanted the court to compel Mwangi to publicly retract and delete the defamatory words and issue an injunction to restrain him from tweeting or publishing any defamatory material against him.

Through his lawyer Gitobu Imanyara, Mwangi declined to retract the tweet he had allegedly published on September 28, 2016, saying as the Deputy President and a State Office, Ruto is open to criticism and accountable to the people of Kenya.