Zambian President Edgar Lungu said the launch of the country’s high-tech deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) machine will result in criminal cases to be resolved faster and more conclusively, the Zambia Daily Mail reported on Friday.
The DNA machine, bought from France, will also help to quickly resolve paternity disputes as results could be received in two hours.
The Zambian leader, in remarks delivered when he launched the machine, said the acquisition of the machine was timely due to the escalating cases of violent crimes in the country.
“I do recall vividly when I was a practicing lawyer and later when I became Minister of Home Affairs how police investigations were being overwhelmed with many cases pending in courts due to waiting for DNA results from abroad,” he was quoted as saying by the paper.
“Some cases were being discontinued and perpetrators of violent crimes discharged. So the acquisition of this machine could not have come at a better time,” he added.
The acquisition of the machine, he added, was in line with government’s vision and commitment to equip all government investigative agencies with new tools to enable them deal with new crime trends in the 21st Century.
Stella Libongani, the Zambia Police Inspector-General the establishment of the DNA machine will ease the work of her officers as a lot of money was spent in transmitting samples to South Africa for analysis, a situation that caused delays in the criminal justice system.
Spy Ghana