A landlord suspected of rape has been allowed to leave the UK and flee to Cameroon – while owing the taxpayer £200,000 and potentially still claiming benefits.
Ndumbe Achile Ndumbe, 41, was allowed to leave the UK while being investigated for rape after police failed to prevent him from doing so.
He had cheated the taxpayer out of up to £180,000 in falsely claiming a housing benefit – while renting out six houses in multiple occupation (HMO) near Manchester.
Ndumbe was also fined a further £26,000 by the courts, after Wigan council prosecuted him in 2025 for renting out two of his properties without a HMO licence.
The benefits cheat was on bail at the time he left the country, having been arrested on suspicion of rape by Greater Manchester Police but released under investigation – and allowed to keep his passport.
It is believed he flew from Manchester airport to Cameroon in January. Police are reportedly working with the authorities in Cameroon in an attempt to locate him and extradite him to the UK.
Ndumbe Achile Ndumbe (pictured) has fled the UK while being investigated for rape and while owing the taxpayer £200,000
But since then, Ndumbe claimed up to £200 a month in personal independence payment (PIP) for ‘mental health problems’ and ‘a bad back’, according to The Times.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said PIP could continue for 13 weeks after the person claiming it had left the UK. DWP has not confirmed whether Ndumbe still received the payments while he was at large from the authorities.
A source close to the investigation said there have been ‘multiple failures’ across the system, including by the police and DWP.
The source told The Times: ‘There was evidence he had made previous trips between the UK and Cameroon. He should never have been allowed to keep his passport and leave the country while on bail over a rape complaint.’
When Ndumbe was arrested on suspicion of rape in July 2024, his electronic devices were seized, including a phone, laptop and camcorder.
Police found evidence of possible sexual offences against other women on the devices and expanded their investigation. But Ndumbe has been on police bail for the past two years.
He is believed to have left the UK for Cameroon in January this year. He still holds a Cameroon passport, which the authorities failed to remove from him
His LinkedIn states that he studied biochemistry at the University of Buea in Cameroon, before moving to the UK in 2007 to study social sciences at the University of Bolton – now the University of Greater Manchester.
The Home Office previously declined to comment on how Ndumbe first entered the country or his immigration status.
After university, his profile states that he worked as a mental health nurse for the NHS since 2016 to the present and he describes himself as an ‘experienced mental health specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and health care industry’.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council, however, said that Ndumbe was not currently registered as a nurse, midwife or nursing associate.
He also stated his other experience as being a ‘real estate rental manager’ for ‘Ndumbe’s’ since September 2014, as well as ‘CEO of GMMH Servises’ since August 2018.
Ndumbe also managed six HMOs in Greater Manchester and was the freehold owner of at least two of those properties, both of which were in Leigh, the Land Registry shows. Rent was paid into a bank account in Ndumbe’s name, with each house having five tenants who were charged between £500 to £800 each month.
Wigan council fined Ndumbe £26,486 for failing to register the two properties as HMOs, a decision which was upheld last September after Ndumbe appealed the penalty.
In his appeal, Ndumbe said he suffered from mental health problems, that his son had been ill, and he provided medical evidence relating to ‘an asthma attack in May 2025’, which led to the appeal being postponed.
The judge’s summary read that Ndumbe ‘spoke about the effects of the proceedings on his health rather than it affecting his conduct and failure to obtain HMO licences’.
One of the properties was found to have a dangerous bathroom leak dripping into the downstairs light fitting, as well as faulty heating in two of the bedrooms and ‘inadequate’ fire and smoke detection.
During the course of Wigan council’s investigation and the subsequent court hearings, it emerged that Ndumbe had not fully declared his assets to the DWP when applying for housing benefits, which have a cap that anyone with more than £16,000 capital cannot claim.
The DWP obtained a proceeds of crime order against Ndumbe to collect back the £180,000 in benefit payments they had paid him. The DWP has not confirmed whether Ndumbe is still receiving PIP money.
Greater Manchester police said in a statement: ‘Detectives investigating reports of rape have arrested a suspect who remains under investigation and inquiries are actively continuing. Specialist agencies continue to provide the victims with support.’
The Daily Mail approached the DWP and the Home Office for comment.
