Resila Onyango, National Police Service Spokesperson, has been appointed as a member of Kenya’s National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Resila will serve on the Committee on Review of Laws and Policies Relating to Sexual Offences and Gender-Based Violence, according to a Gazette Notice dated Friday, August 11.
Resila was appointed alongside Alice Macharia from the Judiciary, Rose Wafula, and Judith Awinja from the Ministry of Health.
Bildad Keke, on the other hand, was appointed to represent the Victim Protection Board, while Waturi Esiera is a joint secretary at the NCAJ secretariat.
Koome explained that the spokesperson and her colleagues will be vital in reviewing the corresponding laws and making appropriate recommendations to the Judiciary, Executive, and Parliament.
“Under the provisions of the Constitution of Kenya and Sections 5, 34, and 35 of the Judicial Service Act, 2011, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya and the Chairperson of the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) appoints them to the NCAJ Committee on Review of Laws and Policies relating to Sexual Offences and Gender-Based Violence in Kenya, for the remaining period of Committee’s term,” Koome stated.
Resila who currently serves as Assistant Inspector General (AIG) and the NPS Spokesperson, is the first female police officer in Kenya to earn a doctorate.
She attended Moi University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree in 2002. After teaching for a few years, she decided to pursue a career in law enforcement.
She joined the National Police Service in 2003 and was quickly promoted through the ranks.
In 2010, Resila was awarded a scholarship to study for a Master of Science degree in Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania.
The police boss began her Ph.D. studies in Criminal Justice in 2013 at the City University of New York. She graduated in 2018.
Resila is a highly decorated police officer. She has received numerous awards for her outstanding service, including the Kenya Police Service Medal of Honor and the United Nations Medal of Honor.
She is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the African Policing Organisation.
In addition to her work as a police officer, Resila is also a respected academician. She has taught Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and USIU-Africa in Nairobi.
