NAIROBI, Kenya – A Nairobi court has summoned two Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers to explain allegations that surveillance software was secretly installed on gadgets belonging to filmmakers behind the BBC documentary Blood Parliament.
Milimani trial magistrate Eric Wambo issued the summons after the officers failed to appear in court on Monday.
The matter will now be mentioned on October 1, when the officers are expected to give their account.
Lawyer Ian Mutiso, representing the filmmakers, told the court that the officers handling the case must respond to claims that the devices were tampered with while in police custody.
The filmmakers — Nicholas Wambugu, Brian Adagala, Mark Denver Karubiu, and Christopher Wamae — allege that their gadgets were infected with spyware during their detention at Muthaiga Police Station in May 2025.
A forensic report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, tabled in court, confirmed that Wambugu’s phone was compromised with the commercial spyware FlexiSPY.
Analysis showed the software was installed on May 21, 2025, while the phone remained in state custody, having been seized on May 2 and returned on July 10.
FlexiSPY is a powerful surveillance tool capable of recording calls, tracking messages and locations, remotely activating microphones, taking screenshots, and altering or deleting data.
It has been previously linked to state surveillance operations and the targeting of journalists and activists.
Citizen Lab researchers testified that while FlexiSPY was confirmed, they could not rule out the possibility of other spyware or manipulations during police custody.
The four filmmakers were arrested in May following the release of Blood Parliament, which documented security forces opening fire on anti-tax protesters outside Parliament in June 2024, leaving several people dead and many others wounded.
Although the DCI arraigned them under a miscellaneous application, the Director of Public Prosecutions has yet to file formal charges. The filmmakers remain free on bail.
