Human rights activist Boniface Mwangi has been sentenced to 2 months in prison or pay a fine of Sh300K following the Machakos High Court found him in contempt of court.
Mwangi was found guilty of contempt in a defamation suit filed by Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua.
Mwangi appeared in court on November 1, in the company of his counsel, led by Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua.
“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. l can no longer post who bombed our home,” Mwangi wrote in a social media post.
On October 21, 2021, Mwangi took to X (formerly twitter) saying “I’m a resident of Machakos County. An hour ago……thugs have bombed my house (under construction), sank the foundation and robbed my workers, “he said.
“I can’t go there now for safety reasons. I know it’s Mutua because he is a molester. & an abusive man. He won’t silence me!” Mwangi posted, while tagging the then-governor, Alfred Mutua.
Mutua, through his lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui sued Mwangi for defamation, and later obtained a gag order against him.
The CS would later file a contempt of court case against Mwangi on January 11, 2022, saying he had failed to obey court orders requiring him to issue an apology and retract all the libellous content he published across his social media platforms.
An adamant Mwangi now says he will pay the fine, and continues to accuse Mutua of bombing his house.
“Why too serious? Here wondering why @DCI_Kenya @NPSOfficial_KE have never arrested @DrAlfredMutua for bombing my house. I provided DCI with evidence, names of the suspects, phone numbers, etc. l shall never stop saying that. No court order will ever stop me from saying that,” he wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.
