Kenyan Officials Accused of Using Israeli Tech to Hack Activist Phones

By Al Mayadeen English

17 Feb 2026 14:28

A new report alleges that Kenyan authorities used Israeli-made Cellebrite technology to access pro-democracy activist Boniface Mwangi's phone while he was in police custody.

Boniface Mwangi, a leading pro-democracy campaigner who has signaled his intention to contest Kenya’s 2027 presidential race, says he felt “exposed” and unsafe after discovering that his personal phone had been accessed while he was in police custody last July.

Mwangi said one of the devices returned to him following his arrest no longer required a password to unlock. The phone contained private communications, photographs, and sensitive personal data, including family pictures with his wife and children. The discovery, he told The Guardian, left him deeply concerned about who may have viewed or copied its contents.

Report alleges phone extraction

A new report released Tuesday by Citizen Lab concludes with “high confidence” that Kenyan authorities used digital forensics technology produced by Cellebrite to gain access to the device while it was in police possession.

According to Citizen Lab, the tools available through Cellebrite “could have enabled the full extraction of all materials from Mwangi’s device, including messages, private materials, personal files, financial information, passwords, and other sensitive information."

Researchers argue that the findings reinforce growing concerns that Cellebrite’s products are being misused by state actors against activists and critics. They say the company has not done enough to curb abuse by government clients.

Cellebrite rejected the accusation that it tolerates misuse. In a statement to The Guardian, the company said it maintained a “rigorous process for reviewing allegations of technology misuse” and that it took “decisive action”, including licence termination, when credible and substantiated evidence is presented to the company.

“We do not respond to speculation and encourage any organisation with specific, evidence-based concerns to share them with us directly so we can act on them,” the company said.

Kenya’s police spokesperson and the Kenyan embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Surveillance allegations intensify

Mwangi was arrested last July and charged with unlawful possession of ammunition in connection with his role in anti-government protests. He was later released on bond and is due back in court this week. At the time of his detention, Amnesty International described the proceedings as appearing to be “part of a broader effort to intimidate lawful dissent and those committed to upholding the rule of law."

In an interview, Mwangi acknowledged that he operates under what he believes is constant monitoring. “We know that I get spied on all the time. I know that my phone calls are monitored and my messages are read,” he said, adding that authorities had already gathered information about him from other individuals’ devices and “knew my role in the movement."

The new report follows prior findings from Citizen Lab that spyware had been planted on the phones of Kenyan filmmakers Bryan Adagala and Nicholas Wambugu while their devices were in police custody. The two were being investigated in connection with a 2024 BBC documentary alleging security force involvement in protester killings. The BBC has denied that the filmmakers were involved in producing the film.

Mwangi said the latest revelations underline how external technology providers can indirectly facilitate state surveillance. “By them giving the government the access to spy on me, they’re putting my life in jeopardy,” he said.

Global surveillance concerns

Earlier this year, Citizen Lab reported that authorities in Jordan appeared to be using Cellebrite tools to extract data from activists’ phones, particularly those critical of "Israel" and supportive of Gaza. Cellebrite responded at the time that its technology was used only to “access private data only in accordance with legal due process or with appropriate consent to aid investigations legally after an event has occurred."

Cellebrite products have also reportedly surfaced in investigations involving civil society monitoring in Myanmar, Botswana, Serbia, and Belarus.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, warned of the broader implications, sayjng, “Your phone holds the keys to your life, and governments shouldn’t be able to help themselves to the contents just because they don’t like what you are saying … When Cellebrite sells their technology to a security service with a track record of abuses, journalists, activists, and people speaking their conscience are at risk.”