Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and currently the Deputy Director of Planning at the Office of the Inspector General of Police, Dr Resila A. Onyango, PhD, is the first female police officer in the history of the National Police Service to earn a Doctorate degree.
She graduated from Moi University with her first degree in Education before joining the National Police Service in 2003.
Dr Onyango underwent her first police training at the then Kenya Police Training College Kiganjo in 2003 and emerged as the best overall female recruit which earned her the Cane of Honor awarded by the President.
At the NPS, Dr Onyango served at the Public Relations Office at the Kenya Police Headquarters in Nairobi County, Rift Valley and the National Police Senior Staff College in Loresho.
An alumna of Lwak Girls High School, Dr Onyango is an Ivy League graduate and earned her PhD and MPhil in Criminal Justice from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at The City University of New York (CUNY).
She earned her PhD in the USA under the CUNY Graduate Center Doctorate Fellowship and Masters of Science degree in Criminology from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, under the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program.
Dr Onyango served as a Criminal Intelligence Officer at the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
"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 carved 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," the NPS stated, on Dr Onyango's achievements.
She has also taught Criminal Justice both at John Jay College of Criminal Justice USA and at USIU-Africa. As a Criminal Justice expert, Dr Onyango also gets invited to speak at Drexel University, USA regularly.
"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," the NPS added.
She is also a recipient of various international awards, including the PEO International Peace Scholarship and the Margaret McNamara Education Grant: 2016, The Graduate Center-CUNY Doctoral Fellowship: 2013-2018, Dr James Fyfe Fellow: 2016 and the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program: 2009-2010.
