Born in 1927, Elizabeth Nyaruai was the first African woman to join the police force in Kenya. At a time when the force was male dominated, she underwent training and was not afraid to take up the role like her counterparts. The former policewoman had been born on a white settlers farm, where her father was the herds boy.
Here is her story as told by WoK.
Joining the force
She was working as a school teacher in Ngorano Primary School in Nyeri when she and her colleagues saw an advertisement. It was calling for women to write a letter to apply to join the police service.
In a previous interview with Citizen, she said she sent the letter on a Monday. Soon after, a police van showed up in school during tea break. The whites in the car saw her and said she was fit to be a police officer. She was ferried in their Land Rover and soon found herself training to join the police.
Training
In 1951, she attended Kiganjo Police Training College. At the time, the college did not have a women’s barracks. She told the Daily Nation in a past interview that she was given a three-bedroom house called the Sigh quarters, where she stayed by herself.
During her first parade, it was announced that any man found near her quarters would be expelled. There also used to be a 10-kilometer jog which she did very well and did not faint like some of her male colleagues
Getting fired
Five years after joining the force, she was fired. This was because the colonialists realized she had joined the Mau Mau movement. She had taken the Mau Mau communal oath, which was illegal. The mother of four became instrumental in providing the fighters with weapons.
Aftermath
When the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta took power, he asked her what she would like. He was willing to give her a good position in the police force. However, she refused and instead asked for land. Hence, she was given 89 acres of land.
Elizabeth also fell in love with the scouting movement and the girl guide association. She enjoyed it and loved the fact that some aspects were like police training. A white settler had convinced her to join the movement, which she instantly fell in love with. Her love for this made her donate two acres of her land to the Kenya scouts and Girl Guide Association
Family
She married a police officer and the two were blessed with four children, one of whom joined the police force.
