A Nairobi court has summoned two Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers to appear on October 1 and explain claims 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 attend court on Monday. Lawyer Ian Mutiso, representing the filmmakers, urged the court to compel the officers handling the case 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,” Mutiso submitted.
The case stems from claims by the four filmmakers—Nicholas Wambugu, Brian Adagala, Mark Denver Karubiu, and Christopher Wamae—that spyware was planted on their devices while in police custody.
Last week, a forensic report by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, tabled in court, confirmed that Wambugu’s mobile phone had been infected with the commercial spyware FlexiSPY. The report indicated that the software was installed on May 21, 2025, at 17:17 GMT, during the period the gadget was held by police.
Court records show the phone was confiscated on May 2, 2025, and returned on July 10, 2025.
