Forensic exhumation and human remains identification: A gap between the Inquest Act 1980 and medico legal education in Tanzania.

This article discusses the gap between the Inquest Legislation of Tanzania and the medical practitioner's teaching curriculum which also covers the medico-legal field. The Tanzanian law clearly states that 'any Government medical practitioner' may be given the responsibility of exhumation, provision of post mortem order and then examination of the corpse where there are ample circumstances requiring an inquest to assist police investigation and the Judiciary in determining whether the cause of death was natural. However, the medical training curriculum in Tanzania for many years did not offer any courses of forensic exhumation and identification of human skeletal remains.

A brief history of forensic services in Tanzania: Current challenges and mitigation efforts.

In this article we review the history of forensic science in Tanzania from the British colonial era to post independent Tanzania. We interrogate the objectives and the use of forensic services during the colonial time and how that differs from with the present forensic service in Tanzania. Step-by-step we report and describe how the Tanzania Police Force, as an intelligence service organ, established various scientific investigation sections to cater for the changing forensic demands over time.