The manager of a hotel targeted by Islamic State-backed militants in Mozambique has defended his decision to escape by helicopter with two dogs, shortly before a British contractor was killed.
Timothy Roberts told an inquest that the owners of the Amarula Hotel had instructed him to board the aircraft, which cost £11,200 to charter.
The helicopter pilot said the dogs were placed in the hold, meaning they did not occupy seats that could have been offered to other evacuees.
Mr Roberts has faced criticism for allegedly “abandoning” the hotel before contractor Philip Mawer, 58, was killed while attempting to flee in a road convoy. His vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The inquest at Winchester Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Mawer had spent 18 months working in Mozambique when the coastal town of Palma was ambushed by militants from the Islamic State-backed group Al-Shabaab in March 2021.
He had been offered a place on another helicopter but declined, “insisting women and children went first”, before joining the convoy of vehicles that later came under attack as it tried to reach safety.
Mr Mawer, who was originally from Somerset, worked as a project manager for RA International. The company had been contracted to build accommodation for workers involved in “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 Islamic State-linked terrorists threatened his hotel on March 24, 2021
Mr Mawer, a contractor from Somerset, was offered a helicopter evacuation the day after the siege started, but turned it down, “insisting women and children went first”
Giving evidence at the inquest into Mr Mawer’s death, Mr Roberts said he had urged him to leave earlier, but the contractor had refused.
In a statement, Mr Roberts said he had grown close to Mr Mawer during the Covid lockdown in 2020 and had been worried about his safety.
He said he began trying to arrange an evacuation on March 24 after hearing people nearby shouting “Allahu Akbar”.
“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, Mr Roberts said he was informed that another helicopter would arrive to evacuate them.
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“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, chief executive of Everett Aviation – which rescued the hotel manager and the two dogs – said ‘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 pick-up truck Mr Mawer was driving at more than 60mph. He survived when it was struck by the rocket-propelled grenade.
He told the inquest their vehicle came under gunfire before the rocket hit, adding: ‘Around 15.15 we set off in a convoy. Phil’s pick-up was the 16th in the convoy. We were travelling at very high speed, maybe 100kmh.
‘We became attacked by al-Shabaab and gunfire 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, a TotalEnergies Mozambican subsidiary, denied having any responsibility for Mr Mawer and said it could not release fuel to DAG, the private military group 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.