Kenyan Filmmakers Targeted with FlexiSPY Spyware Tracking Messages and Social Media

The revelation that commercially available FlexiSPY spyware was clandestinely installed on devices belonging to Kenyan filmmakers while in police custody has ignited fresh concerns over press freedom and governmental overreach.

Forensic analysis conducted by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto confirmed that two of the filmmakers’ phones were infected with the intrusive software on or around May 21, months after the devices were seized by Kenyan authorities during an arrest on May 2, Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton told the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

On May 2, police arrested documentarians MarkDenver Karubiu and Bryan Adagala, cinematographer Nicholas Wambugu, and graphic designer Christopher Wamae at their Nairobi studio, accusing them of publishing false information related to a BBC documentary titled “Blood Parliament,” which alleged involvement of Kenyan security personnel in the June 2024 killings of protesters.

Although all four were released without charge on ...