Hadush Kebatu was repatriated to Ethiopia under duress and received a £500 compensation following his resistance to the deportation process. The individual, a convicted sex offender who was mistakenly released from prison instead of being deported, was flown back to his home nation on Tuesday night and landed the following morning with no prospect of re-entering the UK. The payment, reportedly a decision by the removal team, was not influenced by government officials.
The other option would have involved detaining Kebatu further and arranging a new flight, a more time-consuming and costly procedure that might have faced legal challenges. Canceling the initial flight for Kebatu would have incurred substantial expenses. The 38-year-old, who was released in error from HMP Chelmsford, had recently been sentenced to 12 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Essex.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed that extensive efforts were undertaken to facilitate Kebatu’s deportation, emphasizing the removal of a dangerous sexual offender from the community. Kebatu, a citizen of Ethiopia, triggered a substantial manhunt in the southeast after he absconded to London. His criminal acts were committed while he was residing at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex.
The offender was apprehended in the Finsbury Park vicinity on Sunday morning by plain-clothed officers. He was escorted by law enforcement personnel, wearing a black jacket and jeans, and was led to a police vehicle with a hood covering his head. Kebatu, who arrived in the UK via a small boat on June 29, left prison with personal funds but did not receive a discharge grant for living expenses.
A delivery driver witnessed Kebatu attempting to return to HMP Chelmsford multiple times in a confused state, only to be directed away by prison staff to the railway station. An investigation is ongoing, and a prison officer has been relieved of duties related to prisoner releases.