Posts falsely claim Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was abducted for a second time
- Published on June 16, 2025 at 17:08
- 11 min read
- By Peris GACHAHI, AFP Kenya
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Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi was recently detained and deported from Tanzania, where he and other activists and politicians from Kenya and Uganda, had gone to attend opposition leader Tundu Lissu’s treason trial. Recent posts shared on X claim that Mwangi has been abducted again. But this is false; the posts include an altered video with AI-generated audio, while others published fabricated digital cards.
“Boniface Abducted Again. Leaked video proves intent to dehumanize. Rose Njeri’s connection to Russian psy-ops raises serious flags. This isn’t protest—it’s cyber war. #AsanteSamia, are you watching this unfold (sic)?” reads an X post published on June 4, 2025.
The clip appears to be a “breaking news” bulletin from Kenyan media outlet Citizen TV, featuring anchor Yvonne Okwara.
The chyron reads: “Boniface Mwangi abducted.”
“Folks, my ears are ringing, the noise is at its peak yet again in this country,” Okwara says at the beginning of the clip.
She is not seen again from the eight-second mark, but a voice that sounds like Okwara’s takes over, illustrated by old clips and images of Mwangi, and a blurry video used to depict assault. There is also a noticeable difference in the audio.
“Boniface Mwangi has been abducted once again. This time from his familial home in Lukenya. His last known location, as indicated by a cell phone ping, was near the Namanga border raising serious concerns that he may be taken back to Tanzania,” the voice says, adding that “this development comes just days after Boniface held a press conference detailing the torture and arrest he faced in Tanzania.”
The video alleges that Mwangi revealed that he was threatened with death if he “shared his story publicly” and that “a video has now surfaced on social media allegedly showing Boniface’s torture”.
The voice further claims that the video, which has not been “independently verified”, would not be aired due to its “graphic nature” and that “Mwangi’s fate is currently unknown”.
The clip ends by saying that “circumstances of his apparent re-abduction suggest a pattern of deliberate silencing rather than random violence” and that “authorities have not issued any statements on his whereabouts or the veracity of the video”.
On the same day the video was shared online, digital cards with similar messaging were published on X using the same hashtags and bearing the branding of local media outlets, including Kenyans.co.ke, K24 and Citizen.
One such purported Kenyans.co.ke digital card attributes the following quote to Law Society of Kenya leader Faith Odhiambo: “If it is that Boniface Mwangi has been abducted again and the last ping on his phone is said to be Namanga, this is not an arrest - it is a crime. LSK will not stand by.”
A K24-branded graphic allegedly quotes opposition leader and lawyer Martha Karua saying: “The circulation of videos allegedly showing Boniface Mwangi being sexually violated is a vile breach of his dignity and human rights. His second abduction, this time on Kenyan soil, is an affront to our sovereignty.”
Finally, a Citizen digital card, attributed to human rights activist Hussein Khalid, reads: “Boniface Mwangi has been abducted from his Lukenya house by Swahili-speaking men in plain clothes who refused to identify themselves. They sped off towards Namanga. His family is very traumatised.”
Odhiambo, Karua and Khalid have consistently been at the forefront of advocating for human rights and justice for activists who have faced legal challenges.
Detained and deported
Mwangi was one of several activists recently detained and deported from Tanzania. He, along with other activists and politicians from Kenya and Uganda, had travelled to show solidarity with Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who is facing treason charges.
In what escalated into a diplomatic row between Kenya and Tanzania, Mwangi, who was released and returned to Kenya on May 22, 2025, accused Tanzanian authorities of torture and sexual assault during his incommunicado detention (archived here and here).
The Kenyan activist has had several brushes with the law in the past (archived here and here).
However, claims that Mwangi has been abducted again in Kenya after his Tanzania ordeal are false.
Altered video and fabricated graphics
AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches on keyframes from the X video and found that the introduction was taken from a real Yvonne’s Take segment published by Citizen TV on July 13, 2023 (archived here).
In the original segment, Okwara starts with the introduction used in the X video: “Folks, my ears are ringing, the noise is at its peak yet again in this country.”
She then proceeds to say: “And the noise is everywhere. People are out on the streets protesting.”
Unlike the clip shared on X, she remains onscreen throughout the original video and does not mention Mwangi or an abduction.
While Okwara is dressed in the same attire in both videos, the chyron font and text look different in the original video.
“Yvonne’s Take: Protests and Proverbs,” it reads.
We also analysed the X clip’s audio through InVID-WeVerify's audio detection tool, and the results suggested strong evidence of voice cloning from the eight-second mark, which coincides with the exact moment Okwara is no longer visible on the screen.
AFP Fact Check did not find any evidence of the graphics being published by the media outlets to which they were attributed. There is also no news of Mwangi being abducted again or of videos of his assault in Tanzania being leaked.
Instead, Odhiambo, K24 and Khalid independently flagged the claims as “fake news”.
“Our attention has been drawn to a series of false statements and deepfakes allegedly concerning the abduction of Boniface Mwangi. We urge members of the public to disregard this fake online campaign and disregard all attempts of misdirection and misinformation,” Odhiambo stated in a post on her X account.
Similarly, Khalid wrote: “Please be weary (sic) of fake news circulating linked to me. I can confirm that @bonifacemwangi is safe and has not been abducted by anyone. I urge those circulating fake news to desist. It’s only raising unnecessary tension and will lead to public mistrust.”
Meanwhile, K24 shared the graphic as a “fake news alert”.
Despite the online claims of his re-abduction, Mwangi has remained active on social media since his return to Kenya, making no mention of another abduction.
On June 12, 2025, amidst protests demanding justice for Albert Ajwang, a Kenyan who recently died in police custody, he posted a video of himself addressing “propaganda” about an arrest warrant (archived here).
The caption on the post in English and Swahili reads: “I heard there’s an arrest warrant, that I beat up a police officer while they are the ones who beat me. Tell the government I’m sleeping home today and they are welcome.”
“The goons who were in town were sent by Ruto’s government to cause chaos. June 25, 2025, is a holiday. National Remembrance Day to honour our heroes. Let’s meet in the streets,” he added.
In the video he says partly in Swahili: “There is propaganda about a warrant of arrest. Okay, we’re waiting. I haven’t left Kenya; my number remains the same. The government knows where I live. They know my office and I’m here.”
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