NAIROBI, Kenya July 21 – From Raila Odinga’s treason charge in 1982 to the detention of Koigi wa Wamwere and Kenneth Matiba under Daniel arap Moi, Kenya has a long, dark history of turning dissenters into enemies of the state. In 2025, that script seems to have been dusted off, this time, activist Boniface Mwangi finds himself at the center of the storm.Mwangi, arrested on July 19, 2025 from his Lukenya home, was initially accused of terrorism and money laundering, charges that human rights groups dismissed as politically motivated. Two days later, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) quietly dropped those charges, instead accusing him of possessing ammunition without a license, a shift his defense lawyers say reveals the state’s flimsy case.Mwangi, who on Monday pleaded not guilty, was released on a Sh1 million bond.“Boniface Mwangi is not a terrorist,” said the Police Reforms Working Group (PRWG) in a statement. “Misusing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) against peaceful dissenters is a dangerous attempt to stifle democracy.The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) has condemned Mwangi’s arrest as part of a “disturbing pattern of criminalizing protests.”“Political dissent is not an act of terrorism,” said LSK President Faith Odhiambo. “The POTA law was crafted to fight groups like Al-Shabaab reducing it to a tool of political repression is a dangerous abuse of power.”The LSK in a statement on Monday warned that the country’s democracy is on a dangerous decline.“Our nation bleeds, and the words of our National Anthem echo in a vacuum, one where we do not dwell in unity, peace, or liberty, and justice has ceased being the inherent shield and defender to our most vulnerable.”The LSK called on the ODPP to reconsider all terrorism charges tied to anti-government protests, warning that Kenya risks becoming a “police state in which dissent is treated as treason.”Critics say Mwangi, a two-time CNN Photojournalist of the Year and founder of PAWA254 has been made a convenient scapegoat by a government under pressure to crush growing anti-tax and anti-government protests.For weeks, senior government officials have vowed to “unmask and arrest the financiers” of the unrest. Yet, instead of naming shadowy financiers, the state has turned its guns on a man who has openly criticized President William Ruto for years.Mwangi’s ordeal draws chilling parallels to the 1980s and 1990s when the Moi regime jailed, tortured, or exiled political opponents, journalists, and activists. Figures like Kenneth Matiba, Charles Rubia, Koigi wa Wamwere, and Raila Odinga were branded criminals for daring to demand democratic reforms.Mwangi’s arrest has sparked public outrage, with Siaya Governor James Orengo openly questioning why peaceful activists are being branded as terrorists.“It is illogical and troubling that someone like Boniface Mwangi, who stands for justice, could be framed as a terrorist. This is a deliberate attack on freedom.”The LSK’s statement underscored the concern, pointing at police and politicians for weaponizing violence and fear. “The criminalization of protests is unconstitutional, unlawful, and unacceptable,” Odhiambo said.According to critics, the crackdown on dissent today mirrors the Moi playbook, just updated with modern laws like POTA. Back then, Raila and Matiba were locked up for calling for reforms. Today, Mwangi, a man who has fearlessly criticized power since 2007 stands as the new face of state intimidation.“Kenya is not a failed state in anarchy,” the LSK reminded the government. “But if this path of silencing dissent continues, the country’s democratic gains since 2010 will be irreversibly eroded.”