Sophie Mukwana is the founder and director of the first private forensic lab in East Africa — Biotech Forensics Ltd. The company’s clients are drawn from Kenya and regionally from Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi and as far as Côte d’Ivoire.

Her firm primarily conducts DNA analysis on plant, animal and human samples to create data profiles. Using this technology, Biotech Forensics was famously able to identify 29 bodies from the charred remains of the Nakumatt Downtown fire tragedy in Nairobi in 2009. More recently, the firm’s services have been much sought after owing to a rise in paternity testing triggered by social and legal changes.

Mukwana is a member of Forensic Scientists Online and Green Cities. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from California State University and a Master’s in Forensic Science from the University of California.

Although she initially wanted to be a doctor, she had a change of heart after a conversation with an academic adviser, also a forensic scientist, while at university.

Mukwana is looking to broaden her scope to include forensic accounting.