Rwanda to launch national forensic lab in 2017

Rwanda sets to have its national forensic laboratory in place next year in a bid to cut down costs incurred when transporting DNA samples to Europe for testing and analysis.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Rwanda police spokesperson Celestin Twahirwa said transporting DNA samples abroad is challenging and costly to the government.

"We decided to embark on our own forensic lab that will be equipped with all tools needed to collect, test and analyze DNA samples to assist in crime investigations. The National Forensic Laboratory is currently under construction and will be operational by late 2017," he noted.

Rwanda has been spending huge sums of money to ship DNA samples to Germany and the UK, for tests and analysis to help in crime investigations back home.

According to reports from Rwanda Police, the country spends about 1,056 U.S. dollars to ship a single sample to Germany or the UK.

In order to cut costs, the government kicked off the construction of a 9.2 million U.S. dollars state-of-the art forensic laboratory in Kigali, the country's capital.

Twahirwa said the long-awaited forensic facility will be vital towards providing scientific evidence by significantly slashing down the cost of evidence-gathering, hence properly prosecuting criminals and giving justice to victims in a reasonable time.

According to the spokesperson, the procurement process of DNA test laboratory equipment, like forensic laboratory materials, is ongoing, and materials should be shipped to Rwanda as soon as all the paperwork is completed.

Rwanda had already dispatched people who will work in the laboratory to Germany for training and are about to complete the course, added Twahirwa. Endit