NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 7- The forensic laboratory at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has been allocated Sh335 million, in the budget estimates presented to Parliament on Thursday, by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukuru Yattani.
The money shall be used in equipping the newly constructed forensic laboratory, at the country’s investigative agency headquarters, located along Kiambu Road.
The cash shall be remitted to the DCI during the 2021-2022 financial year.
The laboratory will be a game-changer in the Criminal Justice System since it will among other things ensure court cases are backed by well-documented evidence, enhancing the chances of successful prosecutions.
The most important aspect of criminal justice is forensic science or the practice of scientifically examining physical evidence collected from the scene of a crime or a person of interest in a crime.
It is in the crime lab that the chemical makeup of an unidentified substance recovered from a suspect is determined to be cocaine, marijuana or other controlled substances.
This can be used as evidence in court to prove that a person was in possession of illegal drugs.
Meanwhile, Yattani allocated the security sector Sh 317.8 billion, which is to be shared between the National Police Service, Defence and National Intelligence Service.
The ministry of defence shall get Sh128.4 billion while the NIS will get Sh 46.4 billion. The Police and Prison service were allocated Sh 122.2 billion.
Yattani said Sh 10.7 billion will be for leasing police vehicles, Sh 1 billion for the police modernization program, and Sh 1 billion for the national communication and surveillance system.
Some Sh 335 million will be for the purchase of pieces of equipment for the newly constructed forensic laboratory at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
The National Police Service and Prison were allocated Sh 4.8 billion for medical insurance and Sh 2.3 billion for group personal insurance.
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