Meet Dr. Resila A. Onyango is one of the few police officers in Kenya with a PhD,she is the first female police officer to earn a PhD.
Dr. Resila A. Onyango, PhD, a Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and currently the Deputy Director of Planning at the Office of the Inspector General of Police, is the first female police officer in the history of National Police Service to earn a Doctorate degree. Until August 2021 she was a Criminal Intelligence Officer on contract at the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
An Ivy League graduate, Dr. Resila earned her PhD and MPhil in Criminal Justice from the Graduate Center /John Jay College of Criminal Justice-The City University of New York (CUNY), USA under the CUNY Graduate Center Doctorate Fellowship and Masters of Science degree in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, under Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program. She graduated from Moi University in Kenya with her first degree in Education before joining the National Police Service in the year 2003.
An expert in Policing, Peace, Conflict and Security, Dr. Resila is a Military Observer trained at the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre in Finland and a trained Sex Crimes Investigator by the International Law Enforcement Academy, Botswana.
Under the Eastern Africa Standby Force (EASF) and the Peace Operations Training Institute, Dr. Resila has curved a niche as a Certified and dependable Regional Facilitator for the ‘Integrated Mission Planning Course,’ a curriculum designed for the Military, Police and Civilian components.
An internationally recognized Criminal Justice expert, Dr. Resila has taught Criminal Justice both at John Jay College of Criminal Justice USA and locally at the USIU-Africa. She is also invited regularly in her capacity as a Criminal Justice Expert to speak at Drexel University, USA.
Her academic research work has focused more on Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice, Gender Issues in Policing and Peace Support Operations, Crimes against Children, and Terrorism within East Africa.
She underwent her initial police training at the then Kenya Police College Kiganjo in 2003 and emerged as the Best Overall Female Recruit which earned her the Cane of Honor awarded by the Head of State. She has served at the Public Relations Office at Kenya Police Headquarters, Nairobi County, Rift Valley Region, and at the National Police Senior Staff College, Loresho.
“Girls should not shy away from joining the National Police Service as the Service offers various opportunities for female officers.” says Dr. Resila, an alumnae of Lwak Girls High School and Ogeya Primary School.
