Talented officer wants to be Kenya's first female IG

As you read this story, have it in mind that you are perhaps sharing a moment with a future first female Inspector General (IG) of the National Police Service (NPS).

In that capacity, Sylvia Kavere Amuguni would be the overall boss calling the shots for the Kenya Police Service (KPS), the Administrative Police Service (APS), and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Ms Amuguni is an AP holding the rank of a constable. She is currently attached to the Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service along Moi Avenue, Nairobi. She is an officer under the Security of Government Buildings (SGB) and VIP Protection Unit.

As such, her work in the past one-and-half years has involved general duties of protecting the landmark building and the historical artefacts preserved therein.

Before her latest deployment, she was an instructor at the Administration Police Training College in Utawala, Embakasi East, Nairobi County.

Ms Amuguni is dreaming big. She sees herself through the eyes of a role model. And one major turnaround for her and other women of this nation will be the day she will be crowned the Inspector General  (IG). 

“I’m saying this with confidence. I’m going to be the first female Inspector General,” she reaffirms her aspiration matter-of-factly.
She is a strong believer in “nothing is impossible if you put your mind and soul into it.”

At least she is a testimony to that mantra. By the time she finished high school in 2008, she had made her mind that she would not go back to the squalid life they lived in Dandora slum, Nairobi County.

Entertainer

After a few months of trying to make a living through rugby, which, unfortunately, turned out to be an unstable means of survival, as there were no tournaments or leagues for female players, she moved to Mombasa, where she worked as an entertainer at a hotel.

During that time, she applied for opportunities in the uniformed service.

“I tried more than 10 times. I tried NYS (National Youth Service), Kenya Police Service, GSU (General Service Unit). I would wonder ‘why are they not selecting me?’” says Ms Amuguni, who, since primary school, desired to be a police officer.

For her primary education, she attended City Day Academy in Dandora, then Ronald Ngala Academy and later Rehema Preparatory in Kisii County. Thereafter, she joined Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls Secondary School in Kakamega County.

When she saw a police recruitment advert in 2013, she told herself she would apply for the last time. But as luck had it (or was it her time?), she got selected to train as an APS.

She independently made the efforts to secure herself a job. None of her family members was aware of her application or when she reported for training, she recalls.

“They only came to know when I asked them to send me some money. I was completely penniless,” she says.

Her confident demeanour at the training college influenced change in the system. She had taken along her rugby ball and every time the instructors inspected their belongings, they sought to find out the reason for that.

“I used to tell them I was a rugby player and ‘know there are others here who are interested in the game and we can form a team’,” she shares.

Some months later, the instructors introduced the game and more than 400 recruits, including men and women, formed the team.
Now, there is an NPS rugby team, with her as its secretary.

But that's not all. Ms Amuguni is an artist; she draws portraits, sceneries and even animals using acrylics, oil paints and pencil. Her ability to draw is innate, she says.

NPS has recognised her work. In 2016, former deputy IG Samuel Arachi gifted President Uhuru Kenyatta a portrait she had done of him. She says whenever there is need for illustration, the NPS leadership always prioritises her.

Recognition

In March, NGO Whisperer, a consulting firm, honoured her with a Women in Leadership Award, alongside Chief Justice (CJ) Martha Koome, as one of the 31 outstanding women in Kenya.

For her this was off the charts. Being put in the same cadre as CJ Koome is more than an inspiration.

“You can imagine the barriers she has broken to be where she is,” she says of CJ Koome.

“She motivates me to look beyond my challenges,” adds Ms Amuguni, who equally looks up to Francis Kooli, Kisii County Police Commander, whom she describes as the darling of the people.

Working long hours, 6am to 6pm, sometimes extending beyond the 12-hour shift; provocative Kenyans; chaos that endanger her life; and balancing between work and motherhood are the most challenging moments of her work.

“There are people who just target the police and you wonder ‘where did we wrong you?’” she says.

She always handles those people with calmness and integrity, she says.

But there are other instances when crowds are so violent that running away is the only saviour at hand, she says. She has managed to keep a balance between her role as a police officer, artist and NPS rugby team official.

“I don’t play because of the time factor. But I can manage the team from anywhere,” she says.

“At work, there is a weekly duty roster that guides me on my daily duties. So, I do my artwork after work and during my off days,” she says, adding that her children have taken after her.

“I usually give them a canvas to draw alongside me and they really enjoy it,” adds the officer, who has also sharpened her skills with a diploma in graphic design from Africa Digital Media Institute.

Interior design

She also has a diploma in interior design from the Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts.

Apparently, a large percentage of her income from the artistic work is spent on charity and community work. Ms Amuguni describes herself as a daring person who breaks the norm to help others.

She supports a children’s home in Busia County and pays fees for some of them. Presently, she is also financing medication of a woman who requires Sh3,500 for each of her physiotherapy sessions.

And she is to go for 20 of them every month. But sometimes she has to forgo some sessions when Ms Amuguni is skint.
As it is now, the police constable is indeed a role model to other girls and women.

She concludes the interview with food for thought: “Don’t just dream. Do something to turn that dream into a reality.”

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