Four Kenyan filmmakers associated with the BBC documentary Blood Parliament have been arrested in Nairobi, as tensions escalate over the government’s response to allegations of police brutality during last year’s anti-tax protests.
The filmmakers—Chris Wamae, Nicholas Gichuki, Brian Adagala, and Mark Karubiu—were reportedly arrested early Saturday (03rd May 2025) morning from their studio in Karen.
They are currently being held at Muthaiga and Pangani police stations.
Their arrests come just days after the release of a 40-minute investigative piece by BBC Africa Eye titled Blood Parliament, which delves into the fatal police crackdown on peaceful Gen Z-led demonstrations outside Kenya’s Parliament in June 2024.
The protests, sparked by public opposition to new tax proposals, resulted in several civilian deaths.
An analysis of the footage by the BBC using footage from mainstream media and social media accounts of demonstrators indicate that unarmed civilians were shot by professionals with extensive training and who were aiming to kill, rather than disperse the protesters.
The BBC report alleges that the officer responsible for at least one of the killings is a member of the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), a claim that has been met with sharp denial from the military. The identity of the officer has not been officially confirmed.
The arrests have sparked concern among press freedom advocates and human rights organizations, who view the detentions as part of a broader crackdown on dissent and investigative journalism in Kenya.
The government is also on the spot for having blocked a public screening of the documentary.
The government has yet to issue an official statement regarding the arrests or the findings of the documentary.
