Polish man charged over drone at DP Ruto's Karen residence

In Summary

• Litwiniuk denied the charges before Milimani chief magistrate Martha Mutuku and was released on a cash bail of Sh200, 000 or a bond of Sh500, 000.

• The case will be mentioned after two weeks.

Piotr Lukasz Litwiniuk at the Milimani law courts on March 31, 2021.
Piotr Lukasz Litwiniuk at the Milimani law courts on March 31, 2021.
Image: CAROLYNE KUBWA

A tourist who was arrested over a drone incident at Deputy President William Ruto's residence in Karen was on Wednesday charged at a Milimani law court.

Piotr Lukasz Litwiniuk, a citizen of Poland, was charged with four counts -  importation of unmanmed aircraft without a permit issued by the authority, operating an unmanned aircraft system without authorisation, operating unmanned aircraft system without pilot licence and failing to register an unmanned aircraft.

He was accused of importing the unmanned aircraft system - Mavic Air2 drone model number MA2UE3W without a permit issued by KCAA - on January 7 at Moi international Airport in Mombasa.

The tourist is also charged with operating an unmanned aircraft system without authorisation from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority on March 29 in Karen, Nairobi.

The court heard that on March 29, GSU officers manning the Deputy President's private residence within Karen spotted a drone flying over the residence. They monitored it as it retreated to a neighbour's compound.

The incident was reported to Hardy police station and investigations were conducted and the matter was later referred to the DCIO's office who later visited the scene together with the OCS for Hardy police station.

They discovered a drone at the DP's neighbour which belonged to the suspect who was in Kenya for holiday.

Litwiniuk denied the charges before Milimani chief magistrate Martha Mutuku and was released on a cash bail of Sh200, 000 or a bond of Sh500, 000.

The case will be mentioned after two weeks.

On Tuesday, Nairobi County Police Commander Augustine Nthumbi said Ruto’s wife Rachel reported seeing the drone capturing events at the compound.

“On Monday at around 3pm, Rachel saw the drone when she was in the house and reported it to police officers who rushed there and intercepted it,” said the police boss.

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