Activist Boniface Mwangi celebrates his firstborn son turning 18.
Mwangi thanked God for allowing him to live to see his son reach the official age of being recognized as an adult Kenyan.
The fearless activist recalled how his son was born during turbulent times when Kenya was in the throes of the worst post-election violence, 2007.
According to Mwangi, the children who were born at that time have now reached the voting age, and perhaps they will be the ones to bring about the change in leadership that previous generations have been fighting for without much success.
“My son turned 18 years old today. It’s a big milestone. He was born in 2007, the year that Kenya experienced its worst electoral violence. We made a big mistake electing those who organized and financed the 2007-08 violence into power.”
“We are suffering today because we elected criminals in 2013, and for the past 12 years, our country has gone from bad to worse,” he added.
Mwangi said that he is one of the lucky parents to live and see their children attain the age of 18 in a country where young people are kidnapped and others killed just for organizing peaceful protests demanding accountability from their government.
“My son has come of age in Kenya, where children are abducted or shot dead for merely taking part in peaceful protests. May our generation never give up on fighting for a better country for our children,” Mwangi said.
The activist is celebrating his son’s 18th birthday, just days after the senior principal magistrate of the Kibera court advised him to slow down his anti-government activism and instead focus on raising his family.
“Please, Mwangi, you have your people who love you more than we do. You can die for us, but it will not be enough. I will go home and forget that you died. But your people will think about your death forever,” the magistrate advised him.
“Can you start living for your people? Leave Kenyans to go their way. Forget about Kenya. Kenya will take care of itself, with God,” he added.
The advice from Judge Samsom Temu drew mixed reactions from social media users, especially when he noted that police are trained to kill people and not animals.
“You know these guys, we trained them to kill people, not animals. I don’t know why you don’t know. By the time you confirm and convince them that you are not a thug, you are dead,” Magistrate Temu told a group of activists present in court.
by moses sagwe
