Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi has shared CCTV footage that captured a group of rogue General Service Unit (GSU) officers roughing him up after an altercation at Pension Towers in Nairobi.
In a series of social media posts, the self-proclaimed human rights crusader explained how a series of events on the morning of Friday, 8 October, 2o21 culminated in the unfortunate incident.
According to Mwangi, he was chilling at his barbershop when unidentified men purporting to be Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) walked in and randomly started arresting business owners within the building.
This led to a heated confrontation between the activist, the fake KRA officials, and the police officers.
“I was at my barbershop when these young men walked in, with a GSU officer & arrested the receptionist. We asked them to identify themselves, they said they were from KRA but they didn’t have IDs. We asked them to call someone who had an ID.
So it later turns out the young men without IDs and the GSU officers are under the command of a Nairobi Metropolitan Services employee.
It’s Friday and they’re picking people from shops, beating them and taking them to a lorry for not having “branding licenses”.
Because l recorded them, the GSU officers wanted to take my phone, I refused and in my attempt to run away, I fell. They caught up with me and beat me up. Even after the beating l didn’t hand over my phone,” he wrote on a Twitter thread.
Thread of how broken our country is. I was at my barbershop when these young men walked in, with a GSU officer & arrested the receptionist. We asked them to identify themselves, they said they were from KRA but they didn’t have IDs. We asked them to call someone who had an ID. pic.twitter.com/61GlNWg3cz
— The People’s Watchman (@bonifacemwangi) October 8, 2021
So it later turns out the young men without IDs and the GSU officers are under the command of @NMS_Kenya employee. It’s Friday and they’re picking people from shops, beating them and taking them to a lorry for not having “branding licenses”. @NPSOfficial_KE @FredMatiangi @IG_NPS pic.twitter.com/vohXP1KCZt
— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) October 8, 2021
Because l recorded them, the GSU officers wanted to take my phone, I refused and in my attempt to ran away, I fell. They caught up with me, and beat me up. Even after the beating l didn’t hand over my phone. @IPOA_KE @IG_NPS @NMS_Kenya @FredMatiangi @NPSOfficial_KE @DCI_Kenya. pic.twitter.com/aclA6zmXTf
— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) October 8, 2021
Because we raised our voices, not single person was arrested in the entire Pension Towers building. l was slightly injured. The harassment and the brutalization of innocent citizens going about their business was captured on the building’s CCTV. Over to you @IG_NPS @FredMatiangi pic.twitter.com/yySd49ne0Q
— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) October 8, 2021