From Protest to Power: Boniface Mwangi in Conversation

About this event

In 2024, Kenyan Gen Z took the streets to make demands on the current government about the cost of living, good governance and corruption. What started off as a protest against the 2024 finance bill became a wider conversation about the state of the country and how it is governed equitably.

In this conversation between Professor Awino Okech and Boniface Mwangi, we will explore what it takes to turn a protest movement into political power, what the 2027 general elections could deliver for Kenya's young majority, and the role the Kenyan diaspora can play in shaping it. ‎

About the speakers

Boniface Mwangi is a world-renowned and award-winning Kenyan photojournalist and activist, leader of the Ukweli Party and a 2027 presidential candidate. He is running on a platform of liberation from corruption, poverty and misrule, and has become one of the leading voices of Kenya's youth-led movement for change.  Boniface founded PAWA254, a non-profit art and cultural hub that brings journalists, artists, and activists together to use creative “artivism” for social change.  For nearly two decades, Boniface has campaigned against corruption and injustice, facing arrests, attacks, abduction, torture, and terrorism charges linked to youth-led protests.  He is the youngest Prince Claus Laureate, a senior TED Fellow, a Tutu Fellow and a TIME Next Generation Leader, and he has won the Luxembourg Peace Prize and the 2024 Human Rights Defender of the Year Award. His memoir, Unbounded, tells the story of his journey.

Awino Okech is a Professor of Feminist and Security Studies in the Department of Politics and International Studies.  Professor Okech's teaching, and research sits at the nexus of gender, sexuality, conflict, and security studies. Alongside her teaching, Professor Okech also serves as the founding Director of the Feminist Centre for Racial Justice that focuses on the majority world as geographies from which to build feminist imaginaries of “race”.  Prior to joining SOAS, Professor Okech worked for over a decade in the development sector across various sub-regions in Africa, supporting women rights organisations and local movements working at the intersection of gender and conflict. This work remains central to her research, teaching and public facing work.

Image (header): Storyzangu Hub, Unsplash

Image (gallery): Boniface Mwangi