By Philip Mwakio
Surrounded by tough-looking, muscle-bound men, the only giveaway is her styled hair and earrings. But Kenya Navy corporal Rosalind Wairimu Wanjohi has come to accept, and fit in the hugely male company at the Clearance Diving Unit (CDU).
Wairimu, as she is known to her peers, is the only diver in the elite navy squad that has been drafted to rescue missions far and wide, wading through tens of feet in the deep sea.
Rosalind Wairimu Wanjohi says she has accepted dangers in the sea as occupational hazards and excelled in her chosen field. She is Kenya Navy’s first female diver. [PHOTOS: OMONDI ONYANGO/STANDARD] |
CDU is an arm of the Kenya Navy whose main role is to ensure that the ocean waters are free of explosives and other encumbrances that could be harmful.
"She is steadfast and committed to her job which is dominated by men,’’ the acting office in charge of CDU Lieutenant Eric Muteru Wambugu says of Wairimu.
The 30-year-old mother of two says her work entails plunging up to 130 feet in the Indian Ocean, shaking off dangers posed by predators like sharks to comb the ocean floor for items that could endanger sea creatures and humans.
A prolific volleyball player, Wairimu was drafted in the military courtesy of her skilful sporting in 2002. After undergoing the mandatory basic military training at the Eldoret Recruit Training School, she hit the ground running.
Swimming Skills
The first hurdle was she could not swim. "Upon my secondment to the navy, I underwent the introductory course as a navy recruit that saw me polish my skills in swimming, among other fields," Wairimu recalls.
On her return back to Mombasa, Wairimu applied for admission to the CDU in January 2006.
The task proved harder than she had anticipated, and was compelled to take a repeat test as she did not score highly.
"I grudgingly accepted and gave it my best hoping that I would succeed and make history by becoming the first woman navy diver,’’ Wairimu said during an interview at the CDU premises within the Kenya navy’s Mtongwe base.
She did triumph as she was the only woman picked in the top eight of the 20 novice divers picked to join the distinguished CDU.
In her initial years at CDU, a small and closely-knit unit, Wairimu says male colleagues proved very supportive.
She later married Senior Sergeant Omar Salat Dulo, a dive instructor at CDU.
"They are a rare couple who just go about their daily business in the military without much ado,’’ Wambugu said of the diving couple.
Wairimu’s first test of her competence as a navy diver came when she was assigned alongside a team of expert divers from the US marines to salvage a sunken vessel within the Kilindini waters.
"I had taken test dives before but this one proved a Herculean task as we made our way in the murky waters and retrieved the vessel that lay at the seabed,’’ she said.
The CDU, has done Kenya proud by participating in rescue operations beyond the common borders.
Among the notable operations were the Bukoba ferry disaster on Lake Victoria and the Kenya Airways plane crash off the coast of Cote D’Ivoire .
The latter mission ended in tragedy when one of Kenya Navy’s most experienced officers died in a dive mishap.
Locally, CDU has come in handy in rescue operations.
