Just like any other kid growing up, Resila Onyango had a dream. However, her dream differed from other kids who wished to become doctors, pilots, neurosurgeons, lawyers, and other high-ranked professionals.
Onyango’s dream was to become a police officer, and every time she met a female police officer in her Siaya neighborhood, she would stop to admire them.
Having posted a good grade in her KCSE, Onyango enrolled at Moi University to pursue a bachelor of education in arts. She graduated in 2002 and began her teaching career but realized teaching was far from what she wanted in life.
In 2003, she landed an opportunity to train as a police officer at the then-Kenya Police College in Kiganjo, actualizing her childhood dream.
With determination and passion, she emerged as the best female recruit, earning her the Cane of honor awarded by the Head of State.
Even though she had achieved what she wanted, Onyango wanted to be better, not just an ordinary police officer.
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She went on to pursue a Science in Criminology Masters degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 2010 before undertaking a Master of Philosophy degree course in Crimínal Justice in 2013 at the City University of New York where she eventually graduated with her PhD in 2018.
Thanking the National Police Service for supporting her in advancing her education, Onyango noted that most of her studies were facilitated by scholarships, which she picked from newspaper advertisements.
“Getting these kinds of scholarships is not easy. Persistence and patience pay. Once you get the scholarship, you have to pass the exams, which calls for a lot of hard work,” she said.
In 2022, she was named National Police Service Spokesperson, replacing Bruno Shioso, who was promoted to National Police Service Training Campus commandant in Kiganjo.
She has also worked at the International Crimínal Police Organisation (Interpol) at the regional bureau of East Africa as a crimínal intelligence officer and has taught crimínal justice both at John Jay College of Crimínal Justice USA and locally at the USIU-Africa.
She boasts as the first female police officer in the history of the National Police Service to earn a doctorate degree.
Onyango advises young women aspiring to be police officers to fear not.
“There is no restriction; even if you are a doctor, lawyer, or anything, you can join the service. And even though the training is tough, being a police officer is a very good career,” She said.
