BY SAM ALFAN.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has received a massive boost with the launch of a state-of-the-art National Forensic Laboratory that will help in the fight of crime, something that has eluded the police service for many years.
After many years of failed promises, the DCI now boasts a facility that will help hasten analysis of evidence scientifically and speed up the hearing of cases. The police will not be required to send samples to South Africa for test as they will now be handled at the DCI headquarters in a record time.
During the launch, Chief Justice Martha Koome said the facility and the technology invested will be used to unravel complex crimes and boost the criminal justice system with evidence-based investigations.
“What we have seen is a state of the art facility with new technology including DNA analysis and information management systems that will certainly provide more and better information and analysis of evidence to the investigative agencies,” she said.
At the DNA analysis lab, the equipment has the capacity to process more than 1,000 samples at a go. DCI Boss George Kinoti said the lab will be instrumental in helping the police in solving many cases such as defilement, rape, homicide among other crimes.
Kinoti said investigators will gather evidence from scenes of crime, analyse the data, and conduct criminal profiling, crime research as well as advice investigating officers handling the cases.
The detectives will collect spent cartridges, soil and DNA samples and triangulate mobile phone locations to place suspects at crime scenes.
DCI boss George Kinoti revealed that they are in the process of constructing a state-of-the-art Forensic shooting Range, which apart from being used as a training facility, Ballistics Experts shall use the range in shooting reconstruction.
He said that using the technology, detectives have linked various firearms to their users including a recent case where a single firearm recovered in Kitui, was used to commit over 30 crimes across the country.
He said detectives will no longer rely on their opinions but provide 100 percent scientific proof.
“Your Excellency we have not disappointed in producing graphic and empirical evidence that in some cases brought shock and awe earning us condemnation as giving confidential and private evidence,” he said.
He added, “We promised last time during Your Excellency’s inaugural visit that fear and cowardice to us is a crime as provided for in the National Police Service rules and regulations, thus we are ready to face any risk to account for our time on duty”, added Kinoti.
The dream was conceptualized decades ago but successive governments have failed to establish the lab despite pumping in billions.
Kinoti said the completion of this facility heralds a new chapter in Kenya’s history, as one of the country’s economic mainstays that will be key in shaping our social economic prosperity.
“This shall be achieved through protecting Kenyans in every sector from effectively and efficiently managing crime, forensically detecting every fraud that include tax evasion, cheating and other revenue crimes which suck the blood of hard sweat and labor of poor Kenyans therefore cushioning the country from being a soft target for dumping of illegally imported contraband and rejected goods, to uplift our local industries, safeguard the health of our people and give value for money to consumers,” said Kinoti.
DCI said President Uhuru Kenyatta who was present personally supervised and took control of the construction and equipping of this National Forensic Laboratory, where on several occasions the president went to inspect and ensure that the funds by his government set aside for this project have been utilized for the intended purpose.
“Today your Excellency, the long dream of Kenyans to celebrate their own National Forensic laboratory like any other developed country, has been realized”, added Kinoti.
He said Kenyans and the international community, particularly Africa region, have started reaping the benefits of the facility, which he described as a one-stop-shop, offering scientific investigative solutions and the level of trust and confidence from Kenyans has also increased tremendously, based on how we operate.
“We cannot thank you enough for the immense support that your government has given us to actualize this long dream,” he said.
He said the DCI will collaborate with universities in research, offering internship, practical academic tour visits and training opportunities to experts in various scientific fields related to forensics.
On matters of forgery, he said the Forensic Documents Examination laboratory investigates over 5,000 cases of falsification of documents annually including title deeds, academic certificates, cheques and currency notes among others.
“Our Digital Cyber Forensics Lab has the capacity to forensically carry out analysis of computers, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets, which assist in the fight against online crimes such as terrorism financing, cyber bullying, and misuse of electronic communication, human trafficking, and child abuse among others,” added Kinoti.
Kinoti said a few years ago, local hospitals were flooded with Kenyans suffering from unexplained illnesses including cancers, which later turned out to be caused by consumption of poisonous products contained in the food consumed.
He further added that tests carried out proved that Kenyans were consuming food products riddled with contaminated dangerous metals that were fatally injurious to Kenyans and the local market was awash with imported counterfeited and contraband products such as expired drugs, contaminated cooking oil, sugar, rice, maize riddled with aflatoxin and fertilizer.
“Unscrupulous traders, who flooded the market with low quality products, unfairly edged out cottage industries that employ a majority of the youthful population. Farmers in the country were also not spared by the merchants of death who sold substandard fertilizers that destroyed their crops instead of improving the production,” he said.
Kinoti further said that others took advantage of the artificial shortage of maize seeds and colored ordinary dry maize seeds which they sold to our poor farmers at an exorbitant cost. All these cases were investigated by our detectives at this laboratory, leading to conviction of some of the culprits who are still serving their jail terms.
