Jacob K Mutisi THE grief from an unexpected death is even more difficult to deal with than loss from diseases because there is always the question “WHY?”
It is important for people to understand that with time, they will accept what happened. In a situation, such as sudden death, it is important to understand that we have a legal system, not necessarily a justice system.
May Douglas Tawanda Munatsi’s soul rest in eternal peace.
While we wait for our law enforcement agents to complete their investigations on the death of Munatsi, there are more questions than answers and most of the questions are in the technology that was around him.
In this age of technology there is nothing like, “a perfect murder” anymore. If he was, indeed, murdered, the individual or individuals will definitely be caught.
Technology might not be able to stop a crime from taking place, but it has significantly increased the probability that lawbreakers will be caught and punished.
Technology has changed everything including crimes and the way police investigate them is no exception.
Therefore, there should built a war chest of digital evidence and recreate what led to the death of Zimbabwe’s top banker.
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Internationally, digital evidence touches all investigations and in Zimbabwe, there is now a growing emphasis on such evidence which is mostly handled by the Zimbabwe Republic Police cyber laboratory.
Munatsi was staying at one of the most expensive apartments in Harare.
The average price for his type of apartment is over one million dollars and has one of the best security set-ups which include CCTvs, security guards, who record who comes in and goes out.
Above that, this is a block of apartments which is directly opposite the home of the President of Zimbabwe, which is heavily guarded by armed soldiers.
In this case, the CCTv footage is going to be useful in establishing what caused his death.
It is going to be relevant for this case as it captures who came to the apartment and who left, indicating the time of entry and time of exit.
Other technological solutions like mobile phone records and social media tend to be more effective in solving homicides.
Munatsi’s smartphone site analysis is vital as it places where he was and who he was with at the time of his death. Just like any other evidence, investigators have probable cause and a search warrant to search and seize smartphones, computers, tablets, and other devices.
Our smartphones are always with us, so if the investigator can get hold of Munatsi’s smartphone it may provide the evidence that is needed to solve this case.
In crime, social media also plays a role in solving many cases. The fact that people are using their smartphones to take photos and post them on social media or send to family members helps to establish the identity of persons who were with the deceased during his last hours.
That is where detectives really have to go through social media platform phone evidence.
Surveillance evidence and technology link people to crime they would have participated in.
Just because our smart devices are providing evidence in criminal investigations, it does not mean that such evidence will be admissible in Zimbabwe’s court.
Just as with many other modern scientific evidentiary milestones, such as DNA, ballistics and handwriting exemplars, the evidence is inadmissible.
Digital evidence is not just creeping into criminal investigations.
It is already making an impact in civil suits, Zimbabweans are reporting social media abuse and physical abuse relying on digital evidence.
Are Zimbabwe’s courts ready for digital evidence?
Courts are likely to struggle with the increase in digital evidence, at least initially. How are they going to store it and where?
Is it secure and who will secure it?
There is a lot of controversy around collecting data from personal devices or even the company-enabled devices which are included in the new Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill.
There is more and more data, more privacy concerns, collection concerns, possession, custody, and control concerns.
Using digital evidence collected from the internet of things which includes CCTv, smartphone, social media communications, and smart car, the law enforcement agents should be able to conclude how Munatsi lost his life.
Technology has become part and parcel of investigations.
- Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi is a technology enthusiast and chairperson of the Zimbabwe Information and Technology Division, a branch of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers
