President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to give a big boost to the fight against crime when he officially opens the police forensic laboratory, which has been in the works for two decades.
The much-anticipated laboratory will begin operations immediately after the launch which will take place at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters.
It is supposed to expedite investigations into serious crimes such as terrorism, murder, robbery with violence, cybercrime, and rape, among others, as well as unravelling some difficult-to-solve cases.
The lab will be utilized to rigorously analyse samples and exhibits that will be used as evidence against defendants in court, according to DCI Director George Kinoti.
Cybercrime, chemical analysis, forensic ballistics, scene-of-crime analysis, biometric and fingerprint analysis, and bomb and explosives analysis will all be covered.
DNA testing, photographic, video and audio analysis, cybercrime, biological and chemical testing, and quality control are among the other topics that will be covered.
The construction and opening of the new laboratory, according to Kinoti, will be a game-changer in the fight against crime, which has evolved in terms of technology and sophistication.
The lab was built primarily in the 1990s under the late President Daniel Arap Moi, but it never got off the ground due to corruption problems. After being tied to Anglo Leasing scandal initiatives, the initial project to develop a Sh4.1 billion facility halted in 2003. The physical construction was finished in late 2015, and then the necessary equipment was installed. A number of investigators have already been educated to guarantee that their talents are compatible with cutting-edge technology.
In March of last year, the German government contributed Sh27 million in equipment to the DCI in order to improve its operations.
Specialized crime scene investigation gear, as well as photography and videography cameras and accessories, were among the donated items.
At the National Police Service Training College, Main Campus in Kiganjo, at the DCI Academy and at DCI headquarters, Kiambu Road, crime scene simulation rooms have been built.
Thousands of computers are also being purchased by the Germans for police officers to use in reporting crimes. This is in response to the police department’s decision to digitize the Occurrence Book.
The OB will now be watched and followed up on by supervisors at all levels, as it contains all crimes recorded every day in the country.
Many crimes go unsolved because authorities do not have access to a laboratory to aid them in their investigations.
Foreign laboratories have been used by the service to undertake tests for evidence on matters under investigation.
Toxicological tests, for example, are sometimes performed in South Africa or Europe. Fingerprints, ballistics, cybercrime, document examination, economic crimes, toxicology, computer forensics, mobile device forensics, malware analysis, computer incidents response team, network forensics, research and training, and biological and chemistry sections are among the sections in the laboratory.