From streets to art, Boniface Mwangi fights on

Kenya’s most notorious street activist has turned his back on what many believed was his calling.

Instead, Boniface Mwangi is now using art to push for social change through his organisation, PAWA 254.

“The streets were working but I realised that you could not build a movement in the streets. Plus, I got so much government intimidation and I realised Kenya is not worth dying for but worth living for. After all, I cannot make much difference when I am dead,” he says.

He is using artists, musicians, graffiti artists, poets and actors to create music, art and poems to inspire social change. He calls it ‘artivism’.

“Artists are the truth-tellers of society. The beauty of art is that you cannot be arrested for it. We want to infuse subtle messages of social change into pieces of art,” he says.

BIGGEST FAN

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, a former political activist who served time in prison for his activism, is PAWA 254’s biggest fan and supporter.

He even buys art from the organisation and makes surprise visits to their offices on State House Road.

Justice Mutunga says that artivism is provided for in the Constitution under Freedom of Expression.

This form of activism, he says, is the new frontier in the struggle for human rights and social justice.

“As the Chief Justice, I am convinced that PAWA contributes in breathing life to the implementation of the new Constitution… The messages from the songs are transformational because people in public service today focus on their egos,” he says.

Justice Mutunga adds that this is a new culture of communication as the Constitution allows for the freedom of expression as long as it does not violate the rights of others.

“I am looking at it from the perspective of a father, a man from a generation that has let Kenya down. It is a good thing for youth in any culture to rebel. The rebellion that people see in these artists is constitutional and it is very important that we listen to this new generation of activists,” says the Chief Justice.

The organisation, in a bid to inspire social change will embark on training and funding more artists to produce artwork infused with messages on social and political change.

Mwangi says that they also want to bring honour to other forms of art such as graffiti, initially dismissed as noise and vandalism.

But the core of their activities is in using young people to drive the change.

His plan is to communise art, take it out to the street for all to see. He intends to open a PAWA branch in all counties.

“Nairobi in particular has not yet accepted art. When we talk of art, we think of curios and we don’t see what we can do,” he says.

He also plans to train more youths in photography, media, publishing, and videography as well as give grants to young artists to produce socially-responsible art.

MPS' SALARIES

The artists have a list of issues they want addressed. Key among them is the issue of members of Parliament reviewing their salaries and giving themselves privileges bankrolled by the public.

Leaders must be accountable, Mwangi insists.

‘I have never seen a job where you are freshly employed and you have not yet performed and you want a salary increase. We want to challenge the law that says public servants should decide their own salaries. If you get elected and you find that your salary is not enough, quit. If a public servant wants a car, they should save their own money and buy themselves cars,” he says.

The PAWA 254 has organised several artistic protests such as the ‘Diaper Mentality’ that critiqued the bad behaviour of Kenyans such as tolerating corrupt leaders.

In January 2012, Mwangi organised a march in which activists carried 221 coffins to ‘honour’ MPs’ request for a State burial.

It was in response to MPs’ proposal to award themselves millions of shillings in a selfish send-off deal that included State funerals.

Mwangi torched the caskets to signify the end of one era and the birth of another.

He has enjoyed the support of both local and international well-wishers, such as Dutch ambassador Joost Reintjes, Swiss ambassador Jacques Pitteloud and Swedish ambassador Johan Borgstam, who routinely attend the organisation’s events.