Two officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have been summoned to appear before a Nairobi court on October 1, 2025, over claims that spyware was secretly installed on devices belonging to four suspects featured in the BBC documentary "Blood Parliament."
The summons were issued by Milimani Chief Magistrate Wambo after the officers failed to show up in court on Monday, September 15, despite a formal request by the suspects' legal team.
Lawyer Ian Mutiso, who represents the four suspects, asked the court to compel the officers to respond to the allegations.
“Your Honour, we pray for summons for the two officers handling the case to appear and respond to our application,” said Mutiso during Monday’s court session.
The court's decision comes in the wake of a forensic report tabled last week, revealing that FlexiSPY was installed in one of the suspect’s phones.
FlexiSPY is a powerful surveillance tool capable of recording calls, intercepting messages, tracking location, and accessing microphones and cameras remotely.
The report, compiled by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, found that the spyware was installed on May 21, 2025, while the phone was still in the hands of the police.
The device, belonging to suspect Nicholas Wambugu, had been seized on May 2 and returned on July 10.
Citizen Lab, known globally for investigating digital threats to civil society, said its analysis confirmed the presence of FlexiSPY but couldn’t rule out the possibility of additional spyware or tampering during the period the device was held by police.
The four suspects, Nicholas Wambugu, Brian Adagala, Mark Denver Karubiu, and Christopher Wamae, produced the "Blood Parliament", a BBC documentary that aired earlier this year.
The film captured harrowing scenes from the anti-tax protests of June 2024, during which security forces allegedly opened fire on peaceful demonstrators outside Parliament, leading to multiple deaths and injuries.
Following the release of the documentary, the four were arrested in May 2025 and briefly held at Muthaiga Police Station.
Although they were arraigned under a miscellaneous application, they have not been formally charged. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has yet to file any official charges against them. All four are currently out on bail.
The case is scheduled to return to court on October 1, 2025, when the summoned DCI officers will be expected to provide a formal explanation regarding the installation of the surveillance software.
