Kenya rights activist charged with unlawful possession of ammunition, court papers show

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NAIROBI (Reuters) -Prominent Kenyan human rights activist Boniface Mwangi was charged on Monday with unlawful possession of ammunition over his alleged role in deadly anti-government protests in June, according to court papers seen by Reuters.

Police arrested Mwangi, 42, on Saturday and said they had recovered evidence from his home, including unused teargas canisters, a “7.62mm blank round”, two mobile phones, a laptop and notebooks.

Mwangi was “found in possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas canisters without lawful authority,” according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters.

He was also accused of illegal possession of a single round of blank ammunition.

The courtroom in the capital Nairobi was packed with hundreds of activists, some wearing Kenyan flags.

Over the years Mwangi, who once ran for parliament on an anti-corruption platform, has earned a reputation for speaking out against human rights violations in Kenya and elsewhere.

Last month hundreds of Kenyans took to the streets to protest against the death in police custody of political blogger Albert Ojwang.

Police initially implied that Ojwang had died by suicide but later apologised after an autopsy found that his wounds pointed to assault as the cause of death.

The demonstration over Ojwang’s death reignited protests that had erupted last year over the cost of living and alleged police brutality and corruption.

In May, Mwangi was arrested and deported from neighboring Tanzania, where he had traveled to observe a hearing in a treason case against detained opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

He said afterwards that members of the Tanzanian security forces had sexually assaulted him and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire during their detention.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Ammu Kannampilly and Sharon Singleton)