Crime investigation is expected to get smarter and less costly once a modern forensic laboratory with facilities capable of providing scientific evidence to solve complex cases is completed.

Set to be unveiled early next year, this new lab will cost government to the tune of Rwf6 billion, according to Director of Kigali Forensic Laboratory, Chief Superintendent Morris Murigo.

Murigo said to gather scientific evidence, Rwanda spends as much as Rwf810,000 to ship a single sample to Germany or the UK, which is expensive and continuously costs government a lot of money.

It is optmistic the new facility will significantly cut the cost spent on evidence-gathering by analysing everything from within Rwanda.

"At the moment, we can analyse physical evidence from the small Kigali Forensic Lab, such as finger prints and documents,” Murigo said.

"We can also get DNA samples and send them abroad for analysis but it is very expensive. The new forensic lab will have the facilities to do all the above, but also have the capacity to carry out chemical and biological tests.”

Ballistics analysis

The detective said Police will be able to analyse every discipline, including toxicology, ballistics, finger prints, tool marks and more. 

For example, he added, if there has been a shooting and someone was murdered, facilities in the lab would help ballistics analyse the murder weapon for time of shooting and this would enable a more informed conclusion.

 The forensic lab is being constructed in Kacyiru, adjacent to the Police Hospital.

Yesterday, the structure was inspected by officials, including the Inspector General of Police Emmanuel Gasana, the Minister for Justice, Johnson Busingye, and his internal security counterpart Musa Fazil Harerimana.

Busingye told journalists that the facility will also be open to members of the public wishing to carry out personal tests such as DNA analyses.

"If someone says you are a father to some child and you want to prove it wrong or right, you pay for it abroad because it is expensive. Many times you may abandon the search and accept the child, and sometimes you end up with the child, even when he may not be yours. Therefore, with this facility, it will be easy for individuals to solve such cases,” Busingye said.

"When it comes to crime investigation, even the available physical evidence can be opposed by a party. In such cases we need scientific evidence to be carried out here in Rwanda. One sample alone of body parts sent to the UK or Germany will cost not less than 700 pounds. So if you have 1,000 cases in a year, that’s the money you are talking about.”

Construction of the facility is currently in its final stage. Internal refurbishment and fitting of instruments will be the final stages before it is unveiled in 2015.

Testimonies from witnesses are currently the most prevalent form of evidence in courts of law and the establishment of this facility is seen as a direct answer to the gaping lack of sufficient scientific evidence.