•DCI boss George Kinoti said the lab will be used to scientifically analyse samples and exhibits that would form part of the evidence against suspects in court.
•This will include cybercrime analysis, chemical analysis, forensic ballistics, scene-of-crime analysis, biometric and fingerprints analysis, and bomb and explosives analysis.
Image: CHARLENE MALWA
President Uhuru Kenyatta will Monday open the police forensic laboratory that has been under construction for two decades.
The facility at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters will start operations immediately.
It is expected to fast-track investigations of serious crimes including terrorism, murder, robbery with violence, cyber-crime and rape, among others, besides unravelling several cases, some of which had been difficult to crack.
DCI boss George Kinoti termed the developments historic.
He said the lab will be used to scientifically analyse samples and exhibits that would form part of the evidence against suspects in court.
This will include cybercrime analysis, chemical analysis, forensic ballistics, scene-of-crime analysis, biometric and fingerprints analysis, and bomb and explosives analysis.
Others will be DNA testing, photographic, video and audio analysis, cybercrime, biological and chemical testing, and quality control, among others.
Kinoti said the completion and opening of the new laboratory will be a game-changer in the fight against crime, which, he said, had taken a new trend in terms of technology and sophistication.
“The laboratory will help us to back up what we have been doing with scientific proof. The success rate in the prosecution of cases will go up,” Kinoti said.
He said it will ensure court cases are backed by well-documented evidence, enhancing chances of successful prosecutions.
The service has been relying on foreign and private laboratories to conduct tests for evidence on issues under probe.
For instance, toxicological tests are at times done either in South Africa or in Europe.
Plans to set up the lab began in the 1990s under the late President Daniel Moi but failed due to corruption scandals.
The initial project to build a Sh4.1 billion facility stalled in 2003 after it was linked to the Anglo Leasing scandal projects.
The physical structure was completed in late 2015 before the fixing of the requisite equipment began.
Already several detectives have been trained to ensure their skills are in tandem with advanced technology.
Among the crucial departments at the lab is the cybercrime section, whose main functions include forensic examination of computer and mobile phones, maintenance of lab processes of acquisition, archival and analysis.
Others are maintenance of inventories of digital evidence, analysis of deleted and active files, location and analysis of data in ambient data sources, and recovery of deleted or encrypted emails, SMS, videos, internet sites.
The rest include uncovering passwords, forensic SIM card analysis, extraction of data from mobile phones, and presentation of expert forensic evidence in court by officers attached to the department.
Last year, the German government donated Sh26 million in forensic lab equipment to the DCI to hasten the investigation process.
They included cameras and simulation crime scene tools.
One of the biggest sections will be Digital Forensic Laboratory, which will identify, seize, acquire and analyse all electronic devices related to all cyber-enabled offences reported.
This is to collect digital evidence that will be presented in a court of law for prosecution.
The DFL is divided into subunits, each outlining specific roles and responsibilities of the Digital Forensics Analysts.
DCI is also working closely with other agencies including the Ministry of Health in crime prevention and detection.
Last week, the British High Commission donated Sh4.5 million in forensic medical equipment to the ministry to boost investigations into terror attacks, especially those resulting in serious injuries and deaths.
The equipment will be vital in the investigation and eventual prosecution and includes a mobile mortuary and post-mortem equipment and will enable prompt investigations both at the scene of the attack and even in the hospitals and mortuaries.
British High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott said the equipment will increase the capacity of the Pathology and Forensic Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital and improve disaster response.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris