NGO honours officer assaulted by Ruto pilot
What you need to know:
- Corporal Mercy Wandera was roughed by Llewelyn Alistair Patrick on February 21 at Ndunyu Njeru Stadium in North Kinangop, soon after the DP had alighted from his aircraft.
- The pilot was charged before Engineer Law Courts in Kinangop after a video clip showing the assault went viral on social media sparking protests and demands for his arrest.
The police officer who was assaulted by a pilot hired by Deputy President William Ruto in Nyandarua last month has been feted by a local non-governmental organisation.
Corporal Mercy Wandera was roughed up by Alistair Patrick Llewelyn, on February 21 at Ndunyu Njeru Stadium in North Kinangop, soon after the DP had alighted from his aircraft.
The pilot was charged in a Kinangop court after a video clip showing the assault went viral on social media, sparking protests and demands for his arrest.
The NGO, Aids Reality Awareness Campaign and Drugs Abuse Prevention Surveillance (ARECA-DAPS) Association now says the police officer acted wisely by avoiding a confrontation with the pilot and preventing what it says could have been an embarrassment to the DP and the local community had she challenged the pilot.
Ms Wandera, attached to the Magumu Police Post, will receive a Community Based Hero’s Award and a certificate from the NGO through her boss, Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet.
The NGO’s director, Michael Munene, said Ms Wandera was unanimously selected and nominated to receive the award due to the outstanding and unique personality that she demonstrated.
In the letter, the NGO says even after being humiliated in front of the mob that included children, the officer had the courage to restrain herself from reacting, thus preventing a backlash from the angry and charged mob that witnessed her mistreatment.
The letter said the mob was ready to beat up the pilot who had mistreated the officer and even stone the chartered plane that carried the Deputy President, which they thought belonged to the pilot.
“If you had not tactfully restrained the mob, the action could have caused an embarrassment and disrespect to the DP and the entire country,” said the letter.
Copies of the letter have also been sent to Nyandarua County Commissioner Joseph Kimiti, Nyandarua Police Commandant Hamisi Mambeya, the OCPD of Kinangop police division and the Njabini Police Station commander.
