Kenyan tech whistleblower sues as spy software deal turns ugly

Mary Wachuka Maina, a Kenyan-Canadian software engineer, claims her passport was mysteriously cancelled after suing top aides to President Ruto over a $2.3 million contract for a social media surveillance tool linked to the 2027 elections. Her legal team calls it state intimidation.

By Nhlanhla Muthe

President William Ruto’s senior aides are at the centre of a high-profile legal battle over an alleged spyware deal with a Kenyan tech entrepreneur.

A tech entrepreneur’s court battle President Ruto’s inner circle has taken a dramatic turn after her Kenyan passport was mysteriously marked ‘cancelled’, barring her from flying home.

Mary Wachuka Maina, a software engineer based in Canada, claims the move is part of a high-level intimidation campaign to force her to drop a lawsuit over a failed $2.3 million “spyware” contract linked to Ruto’s 2027 re-election.

According to the Daily Nation Newspaper, Maina, CEO of Canada-based Jipe Inc., alleges she was secretly blacklisted by Kenya’s Immigration Department, preventing her return home, after suing four powerful individuals over a US$2.3 million deal to build a social media “spy and propaganda” tool for Ruto’s 2027 re-election campaign.

“I received a screenshot from an insider showing my passport status marked ‘CANCELLED’ in red. This is intimidation, plain and simple. They want me silenced, but I will not be bullied into withdrawing my case,” she said.

The software, according to court filings, was designed to counter online criticism, monitor journalists, and manage State House social media channels. Wachuka claims she was approached in 2023 by presidential speechwriter Eric Ng’eno and businessman Jayesh Saini, with funding allegedly assured by senior officials Felix Koskei (Head of Public Service) and Treasury PS Chris Kiptoo.

After investing millions, including $$468,750 (KSh60 million) to a US subcontractor, Wachuka says she was abandoned and later sued in the U.S. for breach. Now seeking $2.28 million (KSh292 million) in damages, she is also demanding protection from alleged death threats and SIM deregistration warnings targeting her and her family.

Her lawyer, Senior Counsel Paul Muite, confirmed plans to file a formal complaint: “Flagging her passport without due process is a clear violation of her constitutional rights,” he is quoted sayong.

Immigration PS Julius Bitok denies any travel restrictions. “There are no encumbrances on her passport,” he told local media.

But the legal battle has ignited serious questions about Kenya’s digital governance, political ethics, and the creeping weaponisation of tech in African politics.

“This is bigger than me. It’s about accountability in how power and technology are used,” Wachuka said.