Confusion over the filing of forensic reports on Tuesday prompted a court to grant the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) additional time to respond after the investigating officer said the documents availed were incomplete.
The investigating officer (IO) told the court that the documents received from the defence did not include forensic reports but only chain of custody forms.
The DCI was expected to respond to forensic reports produced by the defence, which alleged that their clients’ equipment had been implanted with spyware after they were taken in for investigations following the production of the Blood Parliament documentary.
However, the IO maintained that the DCI had not received the forensic reports, stating that only chain of custody documents had been availed.
Defence lawyer Ian Mutiso disputed the claim, telling the court that all relevant offices had been duly served.
Mutiso said the DCI, the court and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) were served with both hard and soft copies of the chain of custody forms and the forensic reports.
“I personally effected service of not only the chain of custody forms but also the forensic reports, both in hard and soft copy, to the DCI,” Mutiso told the court.
After reviewing the documents served to the investigating officer, the magistrate ruled that although the IO had received a bundle of documents, it did not contain the forensic reports, only the chain of custody forms.
The court supplied the investigating officer with the relevant bundle and granted the DCI seven working days to obtain the expert forensic reports from the court file.
The DCI was also granted liberty to file an affidavit in response after reviewing the documents.
The matter was adjourned to January 14, 2026.
During the proceedings, Mutiso also informed the court of the death of filmmaker Nicholas Wambugu, which occurred earlier that morning, and asked the court to formally take note of the development.
“Your Honour, it was a hard morning for both of us. I spoke to this man on Monday. He wanted us to push this matter forward, and it was also his interest that we get to the bottom of it,” Mutiso said.
The court observed a moment of silence in honour of the deceased.
Wambugu, a filmmaker credited in the 2025 BBC documentary Blood Parliament, died after a prolonged battle with a rare blood condition, according to his lawyer.
