Politics
Bobi Wine Condemns Terrorism Charges Against Boniface Mwangi, Cites Growing Trend of State Repression
Ugandan opposition leader and National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has spoken out in solidarity with Kenyan activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi, who is currently facing terrorism-related charges in Nairobi.
In a strongly worded message shared via social media, Bobi Wine decried the use of terrorism laws by authoritarian regimes to suppress dissent and intimidate political opponents.
“Standing in solidarity with you, comrade brother @BonifaceMwangi,” Bobi Wine stated. “Terrorism charges have for far too long been used to clamp down on opponents of repressive regimes in an attempt to silence them.”
His comments come at a time when Mwangi, a prominent voice in Kenya’s civic space known for his bold activism and criticism of government excesses, is under scrutiny in a case that has sparked regional and international concern.
Bobi Wine framed the charges not as an isolated incident but as part of a broader pattern of state repression across Africa, where terrorism-related laws have increasingly been deployed against political dissidents, journalists, and activists.
“We remain hopeful that freedom will triumph in the end,” he added, invoking a line from American poet Walt Whitman: “The ravening clouds shall not long be victorious. They shall not long possess the sky.”
The quote underscored his belief that the current wave of repression will not endure forever, and that the struggle for justice, democracy, and human rights will eventually prevail.
Political observers say his remarks signal a deepening transnational solidarity among African pro-democracy campaigners, many of whom continue to face state-sponsored pushback for speaking truth to power.
Mwangi’s case remains under investigation by Kenyan authorities, but human rights organisations have already raised alarm over what they perceive as targeted harassment of a leading critic of the establishment.
Bobi Wine’s message has since been widely shared across social platforms, with activists, academics, and civic leaders echoing his call for justice and the protection of democratic freedoms in the region.
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