Ruto pilot to remain in custody pending Monday bond ruling

Mr Llewelyn Alistair (right) and his lawyer Mr Stanley Kang’ahi (left) at the Engineer court in Kinangop, Nyandarua County on February 24, 2016. The pilot denied assaulting a police officer and will remain in custody for five days until the court makes a ruling on his bond application. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Patrick was charged with creating a disturbance and assaulting Corporal Mercy Wandera.

  • The Kenyan-born and Australian national denied the charges.

  • The court directed that the pilot be remanded until Monday when it would make a ruling on the bond application.

A pilot who was caught on camera assaulting a police officer will spend five more days in custody before a court rules on his bond application.

At 10.45am Wednesday, Mr Alistair Patrick Llewelyn was ushered into the compound of Engineer court in Kinangop by three policemen and put into the waiting bay.

At 11:15am, Mr Patrick was charged with creating a disturbance and assaulting Corporal Mercy Wandera.

When the two charges were read out, he hesitated and looked at his lawyer Mr Stanley Kang’ahi before denying the charges.

NOT LIMITED TO KENYANS

Prosecutor George Mong’are urged the court to deny the pilot bail, saying he was likely to abscond as the court did not have any of his documents in its possession.

Mr Mong'are said the accused was likely to interfere with investigations and witnesses.

“He should deposit his passport with the court and obtain permission before leaving the country,” Mr Mong’are said.

In his submission, Mr Kang’ahi said his client is not a Nyandarua resident — where the potential witnesses come from — and therefore, he could not interfere with the case.

He said the pilot surrendered himself to a police station when he realised the video had gone viral.

“Bond terms are not limited to Kenyans. My client should not be denied bond on the mere fact that he is from another country,” the lawyer added.

He said he did not have a problem with his client surrendering his passport but it was among the documents being used to register his three-month-old baby in the United Kingdom.

Mr Kang’ahi said the pilot was born in Kenya and his family resided in the country.

The court directed that the pilot be remanded until Monday when it would make a ruling on the bond application.

VIRAL VIDEO

Mr Llewelyn had flown Deputy President William Ruto to a church fundraiser at Ndunyu Njeru, and the video showed him reacting angrily to Cpl Mercy Wandera.

As crowds surged towards the helicopter, Mr Llewelyn is seen in the video confronting Ms Wandera and shoving her.

Within hours of the video going viral, Mr Patrick’s employer released a statement saying that it had sacked him over the incident.

“Kwale Island Development Limited respects all the servicemen and women of the Kenya Police and abhors the actions of Alistair Llewelyn,” read the statement, signed by manager Marco Brighetti.