‘Blood Parliament’ filmmakers allege spyware was planted on their phones while in custody
The four filmmakers behind the 'Blood Parliament' documentary were arrested in May 2025 and detained at Muthaiga Police Station following the release of the 'BBC' exposé.
Four filmmakers behind the BBC documentary Blood Parliament have told the Milimani Law Court that surveillance software was secretly planted on their devices while the gadgets were in police custody.
A forensic report by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, presented in court, confirmed that one of the filmmaker’s mobile phones was infected with the commercial spyware FlexiSPY while in police custody.
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According to the report, the phone belonging to Nicholas Wambugu was confiscated on May 2, 2025, and returned to him on July 10, 2025. Analysis showed that FlexiSPY was installed on the handset on May 21, 2025, at 6:30 pm - well within the period the phone was under state custody.
The other filmmakers are Brian Adagala, Mark Denver Karubiu and Christopher Wamae.
FlexiSPY, the court was told, is a powerful surveillance tool capable of recording calls, tracking messages and locations, taking screenshots, remotely activating microphones, and even deleting or altering data.
It has previously been linked to state surveillance operations, the targeting of journalists and activists, and criminal syndicates.
Citizen Lab researchers further testified that while their analysis confirmed FlexiSPY's presence, they could not rule out the possibility that additional spyware or manipulations may have been introduced while the device remained with the police.
The four filmmakers behind the Blood Parliament documentary were arrested in May 2025 and detained at Muthaiga Police Station following the release of the BBC exposé.
The documentary detailed how security forces opened fire on anti-tax protesters outside Parliament in June 2024, leaving several dead and many others wounded.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arraigned the suspects under a miscellaneous application that remains active.
They have, however, never been charged before the court, and neither has the DPP preferred any charges against them. They are currently out on bail, subject to court-imposed conditions.
When the matter came up for mention before the Milimani magistrate, the hearing did not proceed as the court was not sitting.
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