When Shirley Gabriella Achieng' was 25 years old, she dreamed of two things: to be married and to earn a PhD by 35. These were ambitious goals, especially for a young woman navigating life's complexities in a society with rigid expectations.
But in February this year, her PhD thesis titled "Towards an Indigenous African Approach to Counterterrorism in Kenya" was awarded Exceptional Thesis status for the Humanities Division by the University of Otago in New Zealand, making her the first Kenyan to receive that recognition. She graduated with her doctorate in May, earning herself the title Dr Shirley Achieng'.
Today, she is living her dream and exceeding it in ways she never imagined possible.
Her journey from a young girl with big dreams to an award-winning scholar begins in Oyugis, Homa Bay County, Kenya, where her single mother raised her alongside her two siblings. They lived with their maternal grandparents.
A bookworm is born
From a young age, Shirley was drawn to books—a passion that provided an escape from the challenges of her reality. Her paternal grandfather, an academic himself, played a pivotal role in nurturing this love for reading.
“Growing up with my grandparents, I remember spending hours on end reading from a big box of books. My grandmother never really wanted anyone sitting down; she always had errands for you, but my grandfather always shielded me and would tell her to let me be and read," she recalls nostalgically.
This early exposure to literature and the encouragement from her grandfather laid the foundation for her academic journey. However, she discovered her passion for politics and international affairs in high school.
History became her favourite subject, and she was particularly fascinated by the dynamics of global conflicts.
"I enjoyed all the topics related to the transition from World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and all the in-betweens," she reflects.
She then transitioned to Maasai Mara University, where she pursued a degree in Political Science and Public Administration despite initially being enrolled in a counselling psychology programme.
“It was like fish in water,” she says, describing her experience after switching to political science.
During her internship, her university sent her to research at City Hall, Nairobi County.
“We were given random assignments at school during the internship period, and mine was to research City Hall. This was in 2013/2014, and it was still the transition period. Counties had just been formulated. As I was finalising my internship, advertisements came out for the first batch of county employees. I applied and got a position as a clerk assistant, sitting in the committees and advising on policy issues.”
Immediately after, she enrolled for a Master's degree at the United States International University (USIU), where she pursued Diplomacy in International Relations.
After graduating in 2017, aged 28, life got busy, and she was comfortable at City Hall to the point where her PhD dreams and aspirations naturally took a back seat.
“I remember my mother asking me what changed about pursuing the doctorate, but I always had an excuse. This, however, changed in 2019 when my grandfather, an avid newspaper reader, called me and told me to check out a scholarship advertisement in the Daily Nation. It was a New Zealand Government scholarship through the Ministry of Higher Education. They were looking to sponsor one Kenyan for a Doctorate and another one for a Master's Degree.”
She applied for it, was shortlisted, and eight months later, after a rigorous process, left for New Zealand to study Peace and Conflict. "The recruitment process was terribly nerve-wracking, but it was transparent," she shares.
Overcoming imposter syndrome
Despite suffering from imposter syndrome, Shirley pushed through, driven by her reawakened goal to obtain a PhD by age 35.
"I chose to base my thesis on counterterrorism because, during my days pursuing my Masters, I became friends with some Muslim scholars, and by merely interacting with them, I understood the many misconceptions and stereotypes we have about terrorism.
We are always leaning towards the West for solutions to counter terrorism. I felt that we can adopt traditional African methods of peace and conflict to resolve this," she says passionately.
Shirley says her thesis demonstrates the need to shift from the dominant, traditional understanding of terrorism and counterterrorism and advocates for adopting local ways of dealing with terrorism in Kenya.
“That is positioning Africa as a producer rather than merely a consumer of counterterrorism knowledge. Further, the thesis challenges Kenya's over-dependency on Western counterterrorism strategies, which are State-centric, military-based, and embedded in colonial narratives,” she says.
“It debunks the misconception that there is no such thing as an indigenous understanding of counterterrorism and that indigenous people are incapable of scientific inquiry.”
In addition to her academic achievements, Shirley is the founder of the Decolonial Terrorism Studies Network. This platform brings together scholars and practitioners from the global South to explore local solutions to terrorism.
She is also a member and inaugural co-convener of the Africa Network of Critical Security Scholars, further highlighting her commitment to reshaping security studies from an African perspective.
Immediately after completing and submitting her thesis, she returned to the country because her scholarship was binding. The conditionality was that she comes back home for at least two years. She still works at Nairobi County Government.
Getting PhD and marriage
Interestingly, she got married last year, at 35, in New Zealand, the same year she submitted her thesis and graduated in May of this year.
Shirley says her journey is not just about academic accolades; it's a testament to the power of perseverance and staying true to one's passion.
"You have to fight for yourself more than people fight for you," she advises, reflecting on her journey.
Dr Shirley hopes her work is a beacon of hope for young scholars, especially those from marginalised communities, who aspire to make a difference in the world.
She likes mentoring young people, and going for nature walks around her home in Ngong.
As she continues to break new ground in her field, one can only imagine the heights she will reach in the future.
