A Nairobi court has summoned two officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to appear before it on October 1, 2025, to explain allegations that surveillance software was secretly installed on electronic devices belonging to suspects featured in the BBC documentary Blood Parliament.
Milimani Chief Magistrate Wambo issued the summons after the officers failed to appear in court on Monday September 15, 2025, despite a formal request by the defence team.
Lawyer Ian Mutiso, representing the suspects, urged the court to compel the officers handling the case to respond to the claims.
“Your Honour, we pray for summons for the two officers handling the case to appear and respond to our application,” Mutiso submitted.
The case was subsequently adjourned and scheduled for mention on October 1, when the officers are expected to appear.
The summons follow disturbing revelations presented in court last week, alleging that police secretly planted spyware on devices confiscated from the suspects while in custody.
According to a forensic report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, one of the mobile phones seized by police had been infected with FlexiSPY,a powerful commercial surveillance tool. The report indicated that the phone, belonging to suspect Nicholas Wambugu, was seized on May 2, 2025, and returned to him on July 10, 2025.
Forensic analysis revealed that FlexiSPY was installed on the device on May 21, 2025, at 17:17 GMT—during the time it was in police custody.
FlexiSPY is capable of recording phone calls, intercepting messages, tracking locations, remotely activating microphones, capturing screenshots, and even deleting or modifying data. The software has been linked in the past to state surveillance operations, as well as the targeting of journalists, activists, and political dissidents.
Citizen Lab researchers also testified that while their analysis confirmed the presence of FlexiSPY, they could not rule out the possibility that additional spyware or manipulations may have occurred during the time the device was held by police.
The four suspects Nicholas Wambugu, Brian Adagala, Mark Denver Karubiu,and Christopher Wamae,are documentary filmmakers behind Blood Parliament,a BBC investigative exposé that aired earlier this year. The documentary detailed how security forces opened fire on anti-tax protesters outside Parliament in June 2024, resulting in multiple deaths and injuries.
Following the documentary’s release, the four were arrested in May 2025 and held at Muthaiga Police Station. The DCI arraigned them under a miscellaneous application, which remains active in court. However, the suspects have never been formally charged,and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has not filed any charges against them to date. They are currently out on bail.
The spyware allegations have raised serious concerns about surveillance abuse and the integrity of ongoing investigations.
The court will reconvene on October 1, 2025,when the two DCI officers are expected to provide explanations regarding the alleged installation of spyware on the suspects’ devices.
