Kenya has dropped terror charges against prominent activist Boniface Mwangi on Monday, hitting him with a lesser charge of unlawful possession of ammunition.

The East African country has seen a wave of deadly protests against the policies of President William Ruto. The protests have left dozens of people dead and thousands of businesses destroyed.

Mwangi was detained on Saturday and accused by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations of the "facilitation of terrorist acts", which he denied, declaring in an image on X: "I am not a terrorist."

He appeared in a Nairobi court on Monday.

'Possession of teargas canisters without lawful authority'

His charge sheet, seen by AFP, accused him of "possession of noxious substances to wit three teargas canisters without lawful authority", as well as a single round of blank ammunition.

He pleaded not guilty, denying all charges, and was released on a one-million-shilling (around $7,000) personal bond.

A coalition of rights groups welcomed the court's decision to drop the terrorism charges.

Last week, Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said that 71 people were facing charges related to acts of terrorism following the recent violent protests.

Prosecution responds to criticism

Responding to criticism on Monday, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said the charges under the Terrorism Act should be "understood within the framework of established legal thresholds and national security imperatives rather than interpreted as efforts to suppress legitimate political expression."

Mwangi's detention over the weekend triggered significant online campaign under the hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi.

The search warrant police used to raid his home and office accused the campaigner of paying "goons" to stoke unrest at protests last month.

Mwangi has been arrested multiple times in Kenya.

Deadly protests

He was also briefly detained in May in neighbouring Tanzania, where he was attending the treason trial of opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

Mass protests initially broke out in Kenya in June 2024 over tax rises, and reignited last month over police violence and illegal detentions.

Rights groups say more than 100 people have been killed in the latest round of protests, while the government puts the figure at 42.