Opening of DCI lab shelved due to UN Security meeting

A planned UN Security meeting involving heads of states forced the cancellation of the planned commissioning of the newly constructed National Police Forensic Laboratory.

The preparations saw all top police officers summoned to Nairobi for rehearsals for the event.

All had been set for the event on Monday when Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti announced the cancellation on Sunday night.

“The DCI has postponed the commissioning of the National Forensic Laboratory to a later date, to be communicated,” the DCI said in a tweet.

An official aware of the plans said President Uhuru Kenyatta would be busy with international matters and the DCI event will be slotted for next week. 

“There are virtual meetings planned at the UN Security Council and the Unep one in Nairobi. It is a busy day,” the official said.

The laboratory has been under construction for the las 20 years.

Among others, it is expected to fast-track investigations of serious crimes, including terrorism, murder, robbery with violence, cyber-crime and rape, besides unravelling several cases, some of which had been difficult to crack.

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.

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 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 cases 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 then President Daniel Moi, now deceased, 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.

Physical structure was completed in late 2015 before the fixing of the requisite equipment began.

Already, some 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.

More 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 there will be Digital Forensic Laboratory, whose overall function will be to 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 working closely with other agencies, including the Ministry of Health, in crime prevention and detection.

Last week, the UK 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.

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.

High Commissioner Jane Marriott said the equipment will increase the capacity of the Pathology and Forensic Unit at the Kenyatta National Hospital, improve disaster response.

Edited by Kiilu Damaris