DCI denies using surveillance spyware to track targets
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has refuted reports it has been conducting surveillance on mobile phones and other digital devices through spyware installed on phones of those they arrest and confiscate their gadgets.
In a statement issued today, the DCI has termed the report as misleading adding that it is intended to undermine the integrity of the investigating agency.
“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) wishes to address the misleading claims regarding alleged surveillance of mobile phones and other digital devices by the DCI. We categorically refute these claims as false and sensational, aimed at misguiding the public and undermining the integrity of the DCI. However, we cannot disclose specific details about the allegations at this time, since they are now a matter of ongoing court proceedings,” the DCI stated.
The DCI, despite growing public disquiet over abductions targeting government critics and other police excesses, the DCI sought to assure Kenyans that its operations are within the law, insisting that it does not engage in activities that violate the Constitution.
“We want to assure the members of the public that the DCI operates strictly within the confines of the law. Our commitment to upholding the rights and privacy of all Kenyans is unwavering, and we do not engage in any activities that compromise these constitutional principles,” it added.
The statement by the DCI comes after an advocate representing filmmakers arrested in connection to BBC’s Blood Parliament documentary this week claimed that the agency installed a spyware on his clients’ devices after their arrest.
Ian Mutiso explained that an independent forensic examination conducted by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab revealed that surveillance software was planted on the filmmakers’ electronic devices while in police custody.
He disclosed that following the return of his clients’ gadgets on July 10, 2025, he commissioned an independent forensic analysis through Citizen Lab.
“The gadgets which were actually detained by them on the 2nd of May, upon forensic examination, it has come to our attention that the DCI did implant a spyware known as the FlexiSpy app, which indeed shows that on the 21st of May, at about 5.36pm, the said spyware was installed on those gadgets,” Mutiso revealed.
Mutiso has filed the forensic report with the court and plans to serve copies to both the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the DCI.
He emphasised that the findings raise serious constitutional concerns regarding citizens’ right to privacy under Article 31 of the Constitution.
