Software developer Rose Njeri Tunguru alleges extensive surveillance preceded her detention over anti-Finance Bill website, raising concerns about digital rights and citizen safety
NAIROBI, Kenya – Software developer and activist Rose Njeri Tunguru has detailed what she describes as extensive state surveillance that preceded her controversial arrest last month, alleging that her mobile phone line exhibited suspicious behavior weeks before authorities detained her over an anti-Finance Bill website.
In a detailed account published Saturday in the Daily Nation, Tunguru claimed that officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed during her interrogation that they had been monitoring her communications and movements, including overhearing her phone conversations and tracking her physical location.
Tunguru was arrested on May 30, 2025, and formally charged with unauthorized interference with a computer system following her creation of a website that allowed Kenyans to send memoranda objecting to the Finance Bill 2025.
The online tool, known as Civic Email, was designed to facilitate public objections to the Finance Bill 2025.
Surveillance allegations
According to Tunguru’s account, the surveillance began months before her arrest.
She described experiencing unexplained behavior from her Safaricom SIM card, including automatic message sending and phantom notifications with unfamiliar sounds.
“Whenever I’d put that sim card in my smartphone, it’d send messages on its own. I’d see ‘message sent’. I would also get phantom notifications with sounds not native to my phone,” she wrote.
The activist claimed that during her statement recording, DCI officers told her: “we weren’t sure you’d go for the event. We heard your calls to your friends and you sounded unsure,” indicating they had been monitoring her private communications.
She further alleged that officers revealed they had been tracking her movements, stating they were “right behind” her when she crossed an expressway on foot and knew where she lived with her children.
Questionable calls and location tracking
Tunguru described receiving calls from unknown numbers where callers spoke in foreign languages, including Arabic.
In the week following the creation of her email platform but before her arrest, she received concurrent calls to both her work and personal lines from the same caller.
She also reported receiving fraudulent text messages purporting to be from loan app Tala, sent from random numbers rather than the company’s official short code.
In hindsight, she believes these communications were used to triangulate her location.
Safaricom has denied any role in surveillance activities, particularly following similar allegations related to the recent death of blogger Albert Ojwang in police custody.
Violations
Tunguru’s account raises questions about compliance with Kenya’s legal framework governing surveillance and data protection.
The Data Protection Act provides strong privacy protections but explicitly exempts national security and intelligence operations, provided there is court-ordered authorization.
Under the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act of 2018, law enforcement officers must obtain court-issued warrants before accessing, searching, or seizing computer data.
Tunguru claims no such warrant was presented when officers confiscated her computer, hard drives, flash discs, and smartphone.
“The DCI officers who illegally arrested me also illegally took my computer, hard drives, flash discs and smart phone without such a warrant,” she wrote, adding that while officers prepared an itemized list, it did not contain everything taken and she was not provided a copy.
Connection to recent deaths
Tunguru’s allegations come in the wake of widespread protests following the death of blogger Albert Ojwang, 30, who died in police custody after being arrested for criticizing a senior police official on social media.
A postmortem report concluded Ojwang had suffered blunt force trauma, contradicting the official story and pointing to possible foul play.
According to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), 20 people have died in police custody in just the past four months.
“In light of Albert Ojwang’s death immediately following an arrest similar to mine, we must ask the hard questions. Are you safe? Are you next?” Tunguru wrote in her account.
Rights groups have said the arrest signals a trend of criminalizing digital civic engagement.
The case has drawn attention to the intersection of digital rights, civic participation, and state surveillance in Kenya.
Despite the allegations, Tunguru says she cannot boycott her mobile service provider as her business depends on calls and mobile money services. She acknowledges that surveillance will likely continue.
“For now, we must admit and accept this: we are living in a state of surveillance. All of us,” she concluded.
The DCI had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication. Safaricom has previously denied involvement in surveillance activities related to recent arrests.
The case highlights growing concerns about the extent of digital surveillance capabilities and their deployment against citizens engaged in legitimate civic activities in Kenya.
