Boniface Mwangi | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Mwangi in 2018 holdingNanjala Nyabola's book | |
| Born | (1983-07-10)10 July 1983 (age 41) |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Occupation | Photojournalist |
| Website | bonifacemwangi |
_(cropped)Boniface_Mwangi%2c_Imad_Mesdoua%2c_Fauziya_Ali.jpg)
Boniface Mwangi (born July 10, 1983)[1][2][3] is a Kenyanphotojournalist, politician andactivist involved in social-politicalactivism. He is known for his images of thepost-election violence that hitKenya in 2007 and 2008.
Mwangi was born inTaveta, Kenya, on the border withTanzania. His mother was a businesswoman who traded across the border. Mwangi started living with his grandparents inNyeri,Central Kenya, when he was six.
He later moved in with his mother inNairobi's low-income suburb ofNgara, then a high-rise in Majengo,Githurai 45, before finally settling inPangani. Mwangi dropped in and out of school during this period and helped his mother vend books.[4]
When his mother died in 2000, Mwangi, then 17, decided he had to change if he was to survive. He joined aBible school with the intention of becoming a pastor, and secured a diploma inbiblical studies. Whilst at school he became interested in photography. He was influenced by the Kenyan photographerMohamed Amin.Despite not having a high school education, Mwangi managed to gain a place at a private journalism school. To fund his studies he had to continue selling books on the street, but soon began to gain experience as aphotojournalist. He published photographs in the national newspaperThe Standard, and in 2005 won his first photography prizes. Within three years he received international recognition as one of Africa's most promising photographers.[5] He was awarded the 2008 and 2010CNN Africa Photojournalist of the Year Award.[6]However, he put his photography career on hold, to work on Kenyansocial justice.
Mwangi quit journalism after witnessing and documentingpost-election violence in Kenya in 2007 as a newspaper photographer. He experiencedposttraumatic stress anddepression (and he was also directly affected having to move temporarily after people of his community were being threatened). More importantly, he was frustrated he had to cover the same politicians that had incited the violence but remained unpunished.
His first initiative was the projectPicha Mtaani, Swahili for "photos in the street", showing photographs of the violence in 2007 after the national elections, between the different tribes. This traveling street exhibition was shown around the country for people to discuss reconciliation and promote national healing. Over 600,000 people saw the exhibition.[7][8] This was later complemented by the documentaryHeal the Nation, which was shown mostly in slum areas.
Following these initiatives Mwangi started to develop a stronger human rights stance in his work on fighting (political and corporate) impunity, speaking out against bad and corrupt political leadership, and promoting a message of peace for the elections planned for 2013 with initiatives called MaVulture and Team Courage. Team Courage is a Nairobi-based lobby that strives to enable a patriotic citizens' movement to take bold and effective actions in building a new Kenya.His latest initiative is Pawa 254 which was launched in 2011,[9] a hub and space for artists and activists to work together towardssocial change and advancingHuman rights in Kenya.
He formed Ukweli Party and was a candidate for theStarehe Constituencymember of Parliament seat in the2017 Kenyan general election.[10]
Mwangi was arrested by police in May 2019 for allegedly organizing a revolution in Kenya.[11][12]
In October 2016, Mwangi linkedWilliam Ruto to the assassination of a murderedJubilee government critic Jacob Juma[13][14][15] and that Ruto also wanted him dead as well.[16][17] In the same month Ruto sued Mwangi for defamation.[15] In December 2016, Mwangi was accused of fabricating allegations against Ruto including coaching a witness to lie about allegations about Juma's murder, in court and to the Kenyan media.[18] In the same month it was reported byDaily Nation that a person from Ruto's office delivered a letter to Mwangi to help him with his defamation case.[19] That person later recanted his statements and claimed Mwangi coached him to fabricate stories about his claims on Juma's murder yet Mwangi had nothing provable about any of his claims but had just concocted non-existent and non-provable allegations about the murder.[18]
He is married to Hellen Njeri Mwangi, whom he works with at Pawa 254. They have three children.[20][21]
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