The manager of a Mozambique hotel under attack from ISIS-backed terrorists has defended his decision to flee with two dogs by helicopter before a British contractor was killed.
Timothy Roberts said he had been ordered by the owners of the Amarula Hotel to get on the chartered $15,000 (£11,200) helicopter while the pilot told an inquest the dogs were in the hold so did not take up spaces which could have been used by others.
Mr Roberts had been criticised for ‘abandoning’ the hotel a short time before Philip Mawer, 58, died fleeing in a road convoy when his vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Mr Mawer, who had been working in the African country for 18 months, had earlier been offered evacuation via helicopter but turned it down, ‘insisting women and children went first’.
He then joined a convoy of vehicles trying to get to safety after Mozambique’s coastal town of Palma was ambushed by militants from ISIS-backed Al-Shabaab but died on March 26, 2021.
Mr Mawer, originally from Somerset, had been working as a project manager for RA International, which was contracted to build workers’ accommodation for ‘the largest gas operation in Africa’ run by TotalEnergies.
Philip Mawer, 58, had been working on a project to construct a new gas field in Mozambique when Isis-linked terrorists attacked his hotel on March 24, 2021
Mr Mawer, a contractor from Somerset, was offered a helicopter evacuation the day after the siege had started, but turned it down, ‘insisting women and children went first’
At an inquest into his death on Wednesday, Mr Roberts said he had tried to get Mr Mawer to leave but he had refused.
In a statement he said he had got to know Mr Mawer well during the 2020 Covid lockdown and was concerned for him.
He said after hearing shouts of ‘Allahu Akbar’ close by he tried to arrange an evacuation on March 24.
‘I phoned my contacts and told them we had been compromised and had no weapons. I called everyone, police, and told them we had to get out. Nothing occurred,’ he said.
‘They were rescuing governors and staff. When I asked if they could rescue other people I was told they could not.
‘I called Phil as I was concerned for him and told him to get on but he said no. He wanted women and children to go first.
‘After the fourth flight we were told they had no fuel and with daylight diminishing it couldn’t fly.
‘The guests all became quite sombre as they all thought they would be saved and they hadn’t been. The fighting intensified.’
Two days later he said he was told a helicopter was coming to get them.
‘I believed that were we to stay we would have been killed. We were merely sitting ducks,’ he said.
‘I called everyone together and said we needed to leave as soon as possible.
‘I was then instructed by the hotel owners that a helicopter was coming and I should get on it.
‘At 15:15 hours [the] convoy left. A helicopter came in and I was evacuated. At the same time I was told the convoy had been targeted.’
Simon Everett, CEO of Everett Aviation – which rescued the hotel manager and the two dogs – said in a statement that ‘his company had no responsibility to evacuate people’.
He said: ‘I’ve known the manager of the hotel for a long time and Tim Roberts, known as Robbie. We were good friends
‘The only reason we were there is he telephoned my general manager and asked to be rescued because insurgents were advancing on the hotel.
‘I authorised them to rescue him, three staff members and his two dogs.
‘It was a four seat vehicle and I was told the two dogs did not take any seats.
‘In hindsight I should never have made the decision to authorise the rescue. It was too dangerous. The pilot could have been killed as well as the passengers.’
Reinaldo, an IT specialist working for the hotel whose surname was not given, was in the passenger seat of the pickup truck Mr Mawer was driving when he was struck by an RPG but survived.
He told the inquest their vehicle came under gunfire before the rocket hit.
‘Around 15:15 we set off in a convoy. Phil’s pickup was the 16th in the convoy. We were travelling at very high speed, maybe 100kmh (60mph).
‘We became attacked by al-Shabaab and gun fire started hitting us. The vehicle behind us began reversing. I became aware that we ourselves were hit by an RPG.
‘Our vehicle began skidding and was still under fire. We got out and ran.’
TotalEnergies has been accused of hampering rescue attempts and failing to provide enough fuel for helicopters trying to bring people to safety.
TEPMA1, TotalEnergies Mozambican subsidiary, denied having any responsibility over Mr Mawer and said it could not release fuel to the private military group DAG that was working on behalf of the Mozambique government fighting insurgents and rescuing hostages.
It said it did not know Mr Mawer was still in Palma and claimed human rights abuse allegations against DAG meant it could not provide it with fuel.
The inquest continues.
