Part 6/14:
Furthermore, surveillance activity surged before pivotal events: national elections in Nigeria, protests in Thailand, and other political upheavals. This pattern indicated that the software was primarily used to monitor activists, journalists, and opposition figures—far from its advertised purpose of targeting terrorists or criminals. The presence of tracking clusters, such as exiled Rwandan dissidents in South Africa—whose bodyguards and associates were tracked before the politician’s assassination—added a chilling layer to the investigation. Interestingly, the dataset showed that surveillance efforts against Patrick Caragaya’s associates ended months before his murder, raising questions about how surveillance and violence may be interconnected.