By Spy Uganda
Officials from the Directorate of Government Analytical Laboratory (DGAL) have called on Parliament to fast-track the Forensic and Scientific Analytical Service Bill, 2025, saying the proposed law will significantly enhance the legal use of forensic evidence in criminal investigations across the country.
The appeal was made on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, as DGAL officials appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (Central Government) to respond to issues raised in the Auditor General’s report for Financial Year 2024/2025. The session was chaired by the committee’s Deputy Chairperson, Gorreth Namugga.
Commissioner of Criminalistics and Laboratory Services, Tarsisius Byamugisha, told legislators that the Bill will provide a comprehensive legal framework for the admissibility and management of forensic data, including DNA and ballistics, in national investigations.
He explained that without a centralized and legally backed database, police often arrest multiple suspects in connection with a single crime, a process that can delay prosecutions.
“With the database, instead of Police arresting 50 people over the same crime, they can search the crime scene and give us the exhibits. We will test them and search through the database to point out the actual people who were at the scene. That is why we are pushing this Bill,” Byamugisha said.
He revealed that DGAL has already developed in-house databases for DNA profiling and ballistics analysis to enhance quality control and investigative accuracy.
Members of Parliament welcomed the initiative, emphasizing the urgent need for regulation in the growing field of forensic services. Joseph Ssewungu (NUP, Kalungu West County) noted that expediting the Bill would streamline oversight of private forensic data providers and address emerging challenges, particularly in DNA testing.
“There are so many challenges happening now with families where many people are taking their children for DNA testing. I also recently got samples before burial of somebody, from a nun. All these are issues that must be addressed by the Bill, especially how evidence is produced, used and kept,” Ssewungu said.
Hope Nakazibwe (NUP, Mubende District Woman Representative) pressed officials on progress made in generating a national forensic database, recalling Parliament’s approval of Shs178.66 billion to support the initiative.
In response, DGAL Chief Chemist Kepher Kuchana Kateu disclosed that a landmark study on the “allele frequency database for 21 autosomal short tandem repeats in the Ugandan population” had recently been completed, laying critical groundwork for a nationally representative DNA database.
“We carried out this study across the Ugandan population from the east, west, south and central regions. We have generated the genetic profiles of our population which can be used in the future. Presently, we have been using databases generated by other people,” Kateu explained.
He further revealed that the laboratory has established additional in-house databases in toxicology, including poisons and pesticide residue records, to strengthen crime detection and scientific analysis.
Lawmakers and DGAL officials agreed that the enactment of the Forensic and Scientific Analytical Service Bill, 2025, would not only improve investigative efficiency but also safeguard the integrity, storage, and admissibility of forensic evidence in Uganda’s justice system.
The proposed legislation is expected to provide a transformative framework for scientific crime detection, ensuring accuracy, accountability, and faster resolution of cases nationwide.
