- Kenya is now marketing the laboratory to regional countries for use.
- So far, more than 1,000 detectives have received forensic investigations disciplines.
Image: DCI
A crime scenes training for officers from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania opened in Nairobi days after the DCI National Forensic Laboratory was inaugurated.
The 11-day training is tailored to furnish the officers with comprehensive and specialised training in the application of forensic science to crime scene investigations.
Deputy director DCI Dr Hamisi Masa on Thursday officially opened the course at the DCI Academy, which is a fundamental capacity builder for the experts drawn from East Africa’s investigative agencies.
Masa told the participants the training will improve their aptitude in crime scene management and processing, evidence documentation, advanced latent print and shooting reconstruction.
He also expressed immense gratitude to the German government that has facilitated the training through the GIZ police programme.
Gatiria Mboroki, a commandant at the DCI Academy, urged participants to take advantage of the training since it would enhance their investigative capabilities translating to better service delivery.
A three-day capacity building and mentorship programme for 20 participants drawn from different agencies conducted by the UK National Crime Agency kicked off at the same institution.
Kenya is now marketing the laboratory to regional countries for use.
This is after the facility was on Monday, commissioned and officials revealed more than 1,000 detectives in various fields have been trained and deployed there for use.
President Uhuru Kenyatta who presided over the event was taken through the facility from the first floor to the fourth floor and shown how the ten departments work.
DCI Director General George Kinoti said the experts will now be available for work in any part of the country and region.
“Any country is now ready to seek help here. We have experts who can fly to any part of the world to investigate and pick evidence for analysis and use,” he said.
He added the facility will be open for use by any country.
The group focused on crime scene Investigations, which form the foundation upon which every successful investigation is built.
This, Kinoti said, has led to improved service delivery as officers in crime scene reconstruction and evidence management have led to successful resolution of many crime puzzles.
Kinoti said the completion and opening of the new laboratory will be a game-changer in the fight against crime, which has 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.
The government and other development partners have also equipped detectives with the contemporary tools and equipment required in modern-day investigations.
DCI has been relying on foreign laboratories to conduct tests for evidence on issues under probe.
At the laboratory, there are different sections, including fingerprints, ballistics, cybercrime, document examination, economic crimes and toxicology.
Others are computer forensics, mobile device forensics, malware analysis, computer incidents response team, network forensics, research and training and biological and chemistry sections.
There will be a digital forensic laboratory, whose overall function will be to identify, seize, acquire and analyse all electronic devices related to all cyber-enabled offences reported.
(Edited by Tabnacha)