Boniface Mwangi Biography
Boniface Mwangi is a Kenyan photojournalist, politician, and activist involved in social-political activism. He is widely known for his images of the post-election violence that hit Kenya in 2007 and 2008. Mwangi was born on July 10, 1983 in Taveta, Kenya. He started his photography career at the age of 18 and later founded Picha Mtaani, a non-governmental organization that uses photography to educate and mobilize young people about social and political issues.
Mwangi is a challenger known for his sharp criticism of corruption and injustice in Kenya. He continues to use his image and voice to bring positive change in society.
Mwangi has won various awards for his work, including the Prince Claus Award for Journalism and the Rory Peck Award for Human Rights Photography. In 2016, he was elected Member of Parliament for Starehe.
10 Quick Facts About
- Name: Josphat R. Gachie
- Age: 40 years old
- Birthday: 10 July
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Height: Average
- Nationality: Kenyan
- Occupation: Photojournalist, Politician, and Activist
- Marital Status: Married
- Salary: Under Review
- Net Worth: Ksh.3 Million
Boniface Mwangi Age
Mwangi is 40 years old. He was born on 10 July 1983, in Taveta, Kenya. He celebrates his birthday on 10 July every year and his birth sign is Cancer.
Boniface Mwangi Height
Mwangi stands at an average height. He appears to be quite tall in stature if his photos, relative to his surroundings, are anything to go by. However, details regarding his actual height and other body measurements are currently not publicly available. We will update this section when the information is available.
Early Life and Education
Mwangi as born in Taveta, Kenya, on July 10, 1983. He moved between different locations during his childhood, living with both grandparents and his mother. He faced challenges, including expulsion from a correctional school at a young age. Despite the difficulties, he helped his mother sell books, demonstrating an early work ethic.
Mwangi did not complete high school due to his expulsion from the correctional facility. He later attended a private journalism school, financing his studies through his bookselling business.
Mwangi developed a strong interest in photography, likely influenced by the renowned Kenyan photographer Mohamed Amin. This self-learning and his experiences on the streets shaped his understanding of society and social issues. Through his experiences, he cultivated valuable skills in storytelling and social awareness.
Boniface Mwangi Family, Parents
Mwangi was born in Taveta, Kenya, on the border with Tanzania. His mother, Wakiuru wa Mahinge sold across the border. When he was six, he moved in with his grandparents in Nyeri Central Kenya. Having learned Kiswahili from birth he would encounter linguistic challenges.
Boniface subsequently moved with his mother to live in Nairobi’s low-income suburb of Ngara, then a highrise in Majengo, Githurai 45, prior to finally settling in Pangani. Mwangi dropped in and out of school during this period and assisted his mother in vending books.
Nonetheless, our efforts to find out more about his family came to no avail as no such information is publicly available. Therefore, the identity of Mwangi‘s father is still unclear. It is also not known if he has any siblings. We will update this section once this information is available.
Boniface Mwangi Wife
Mwangi is currently married to his wife Hellen Njeri Mwangi, whom he works with at Pawa 254. The couple did their wedding and together they are blessed with three children namely, Naila, Jabu, and Nate. He later shared that he kisses his wife and kids every day in the morning and evening since it might be the last time he sees them.
Boniface Mwangi Children
Mwangi and his wife Hellen Njeri Mwangi have three children together, a daughter named Naila, and two sons named Jabu and Nate.
Boniface Mwangi Net Worth
Mwangi has an estimated net worth of Ksh.3 million shillings as of 2024. This includes his assets, money, and income. His primary source of income is his career as a Photojournalist, Politician, and Activist. Through his various sources of income, Mwangi has accumulated good fortune but prefers to lead a modest lifestyle.
Boniface Mwangi Measurements and Facts
Here are some interesting facts and body measurements you should know about Boniface.
Boniface Mwangi Wiki
- Full Names: Boniface Mwangi
- Popular As: Boniface
- Gender: Male
- Occupation / Profession: Photojournalist, Politician, and Activist
- Nationality: Kenyan
- Race / Ethnicity: Kikuyu
- Religion: Christian
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
Boniface Mwangi Birthday
- Age / How Old?: 40 years old
- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
- Date of Birth: 10 July 1983
- Place of Birth: 10 July 1983, in Taveta, Kenya
- Birthday: 10 July
Boniface Mwangi Body Measurements
- Body Measurements: Not Available
- Height / How Tall?: Average
- Weight: Moderate
- Eye Color: Black
- Hair Color: Black
- Shoe Size: Not Available
Boniface Mwangi Family and Relationship
- Father (Dad): Not Known
- Mother: Wakiuru wa Mahinge
- Siblings (Brothers and Sisters): Not Known
- Marital Status: Married
- Spouse/ Wife: Married to Hellen Njeri Mwangi
- Dating / Girlfriend: Not Applicable
- Children: Sons (Jabu, Nate) Daughter(s) (Naila)
Boniface Mwangi Net Worth and Salary
- Net Worth: Ksh.3 Million
- Salary: Under Review
- Source of Income: Photojournalist, Politician, and Activist
Boniface Mwangi Journalist Career
When his mother died in 2000, Mwangi, then 17, decided he had to change if he was to survive. He joined a Bible school with the intention of becoming a pastor and secured a diploma in Bible Studies. Whilst at school he became interested in photography. He was influenced by the Kenyan photographer Mohamed Amin.
Despite not having a high school education, Mwangi managed to gain a place at a private journalism school. To fund his studies he had to continue selling books on the street, but soon began to gain experience as a photojournalist. He published photographs in the national newspaper The Standard, and in 2005 won his first photography prize.
Within three years he received international recognition as one of Africa’s most promising photographers. He was awarded the 2008 and 2010 CNN Africa Photojournalist of the Year Award. However, he put his photography career on hold, to work on Kenyan social justice.
Boniface Mwangi Activist Career
Mwangi quit journalism after witnessing and documenting post-election violence in Kenya in 2007 as a newspaper photographer. He experienced posttraumatic stress and depression (and he was also directly affected by having to move temporarily after people in his community were being threatened). More importantly, he was frustrated he had to cover the same politicians that had incited the violence but remained unpunished.
His first initiative was the project Picha Mtaani, Swahili for street exhibition, showing photographs of the violence in 2007 after the national elections, between the different tribes. This traveling street exhibition was shown around the country for people to discuss reconciliation and promote national healing. Over 600.000 people saw the exhibition.
This was later complemented by the documentary Heal the Nation, which was shown mostly in slum areas. Following these initiatives Mwangi started to develop a stronger human rights stance in his work on fighting (political and corporate) impunity, speaking out against bad and corrupt political leadership, and promoting a message of peace for the elections planned for 2013 with initiatives called MaVulture and Team Courage.
Team Courage is a Nairobi-based lobby that strives to enable a patriotic citizens’ movement to take bold and effective actions in building a new Kenya. His latest initiative is Pawa 254, a hub and space for artists and activists to work together towards social change and advancing Human rights in Kenya.
Boniface Mwangi Health
Mwangi has confessed to forcing a stir at the Nairobi West Hospital on August 21. A video showing Mwangi contending against security personnel at the hospital has since gone viral. The activist had been charged with damaging the hospital’s equipment. Mwangi has since come out to accept paying the hospital Sh106,000 for the destroyed property, including a desktop computer.
On what led to the squabble, Mwangi said he took a problem with the hospital’s policy to seek a guarantee from patients prior before they are permitted to the building. The activist stated on August 21, he and his wife had been implicated in a road accident and were carried to the Nairobi West Hospital, which was the nearest therapy center from the accident scene on Lang’ata Road.
Nevertheless, upon coming to the hospital, he stated he was shocked to learn that an upfront payment was required before he and his spouse, Hellen Njeri, could be treated. He argues he got angry at the request, occasioning the scuffle. “On August 21, we were passengers in a friend’s car. During the journey, another motorist veered onto our lane on Lang’ata Road and rammed our car. Good Samaritans, a couple, came to our rescue and took us to Nairobi West Hospital,” Mwangi said on Facebook on Thursday, September 1.
He stated the upfront payment policy that he didn’t agree with resulted in the destructive scuffle.“Emergency healthcare is a right in the Constitution. In my distress to get the hospital’s management to attend to my wife, I ended up raising my voice, breaking some things and causing a scene,” said Mwangi.
The activist was, therefore, arrested and booked at the Akila Police Station in South C under OB Number 21/08/2022. An officer at the station revealed to The Standard that Mwangi was released from custody the following day after two of his friends raised his police bail. The Nairobi West Hospital, in its procedures, demands a patient to pay an upfront fee prior treatment.
Boniface Mwangi House
Mwangi is transported to the progress of his home as he concentrates on completing it. The activist shared a clip demonstrating the beautiful bungalow and the compound, which looks awesome with the green grass and trees. Considerably work has been done and the well-known and his family look onward to move into the home anointed the ‘Courage Base’.
Boniface Mwangi Contacts
- X (Twitter)
- Youtube
- Tiktok
- Website
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