Two decades of conflict has made Somalia a place where sexual violence is rampant. The new freezers in the country’s only forensic lab, which can store thousands of DNA samples, can help tackle rape impunity in the African nation
Horn of Africa’s first forensic lab
The lab, partly funded by Sweden, was launched last year after the Puntland state government enacted a Sexual Offences Act in 2016, which criminalised sexual offences, according to AFP
Currently there are just five samples in the new freezers
No more he-said-she-said
The first sample, taken on a cotton swab from the underwear of a woman, a rape victim from the village of Galdogob, arrived at the start of the year. Wrapped in paper, it was driven 250 km to the forensic centre in Puntland’s capital. If DNA ID can be teased from the sample, this would be a crucial step in convicting the rapist. No longer would it be a case of he-said-she-said, in which the survivor is less often believed than the accused
Tech alone won’t solve it
But technology alone will not solve Somalia’s judicial weaknesses. The DNA sample from Galdogob was stored in unrefrigerated conditions for five days before being sent to the lab, meaning a defence counsel could argue the DNA evidence had been tampered with
More fundamental still is the failure of Somalia’s police to take sexual assault cases—and their jobs—seriously. Corruption is rife, with a legal advisor to Puntland’s justice ministry saying officers “meddle” in cases, undermining them for personal gain