Boniface Mwangi, one of Kenya’s most outspoken human rights activists, has formally announced that he will contest the presidency in 2027.

The declaration came on Wednesday during Katiba Day celebrations at Ufungamano House, a venue long associated with political dissent and reform movements.

“Fifteen years since the promulgation of the Constitution, we must pause and honour what we have done together, out of love for our country,” Mwangi told supporters. “We have always fought for a better Kenya, and now it is time to unveil new possibilities — a Kenya that works for all of us.”

His entry adds to a growing list of hopefuls eyeing the race to succeed or unseat President William Ruto. Among them are Mumias East MP Peter Salasya and, according to political chatter, former Chief Justice David Maraga.

Mwangi, who has spent much of his career championing accountability and social justice, said he would only align himself with “clean” individuals. Using a vivid metaphor, he declared: “If I take this water and it is clean now, and I put a drop of urine, human waste, or cow dung, it will be contaminated. It will be a mistake for me to try to work with anyone who is contaminated.”

He argued that Kenya cannot change by recycling the same faces who have long held power. “This country won’t move forward if we keep entrusting it to those who have failed us before,” he said.

Mwangi’s announcement comes just months after a brush with the law. In July, he was arrested at his home in Lukenya, Machakos County, by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). Authorities accused him of playing a logistical and financial role in anti-government protests that left scores dead and public property damaged.

Investigators claimed they recovered laptops, external drives, documents, and unused teargas canisters from his office. He was also linked to ammunition allegedly found during the raid. Mwangi denied the allegations, and the terrorism charges were later dropped.

The case underscored his fraught relationship with the state, a theme that has run through his years as a photographer, protest organiser, and vocal critic of successive governments.

Analysts say his candidacy will test whether Kenya’s restless youth, many of whom have rallied behind him in street protests, can translate that energy into electoral power. For now, Mwangi is positioning himself as the face of uncompromising change — and as a challenger to a political class he insists is “contaminated.”