Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, a previously convicted sex offender, is once again in custody. He had been incorrectly released from HMP Chelmsford in Essex. The 31-year-old was sentenced to a year in jail last September for the two assaults, involving one woman and one 14-year-old girl. His release has sparked outrage throughout the community. Now, people are calling for a full investigation into how this serious breakdown of our justice system occurred.
At the time, Kebatu had served just 31 days of his sentence. He was due to be moved to an immigration prison for deportation. Instead, he was seen catching a train from Chelmsford railway station at 12:41 PM on Friday and spent approximately an hour and a half wandering around the station, seemingly confused about where he was meant to go. After his release, he eventually found his way to Stratford in East London. We later spotted him in Dalston, proudly strutting down the street with a plain white shopping bag adorned with images of avocados.
Kebatu has a criminal history of five felonies. The gravest incident consists of two attempts to kiss the minor before he sexually assaulted her. He also sexually assaulted another woman and tried to force her to kiss him. Within days of entering the UK via small boat, he was checked in to the Bell Hotel in Epping. Soon after moving in, the attacks started.
Authorities apprehended Kebatu again in the Finsbury Park area of North London at around 8:30 AM on Sunday. District Judge Christopher Williams, who is presiding over Kebatu’s case, has spared no harsh words for Kebatu. He raised concerns that Kebatu had a high “risk for recidivism” suggesting his behavior was “done ignorantly and repulsively.”
In the wake of this incident, political leaders have spoken out about the breakdown in the justice system. Zia Yusuf expressed his disbelief at the current state of affairs, stating, “I said yesterday on social media that Britain’s descent into a Monty Python sketch was almost complete.” He went on to slam the Labour government even more, for saying how victims of sexual assault could possibly have any confidence in the system.
Aaron Stowe, a representative of victims’ rights, strongly condemned Kebatu’s release, calling it “a betrayal of the victims, the community and the principles of justice.” He called for an independent torrential investigation and urgent reforms so that incidents like this could not happen again.
This kind of mistake has far-reaching impact, especially with our justice system stretched to breaking point,” added Mike Rolfe. The shining faith of the public in the law is crumbling into dust, and those few still devoted to enforcing the law just have to clean up the shards of political cowardice.
Witnesses described Kebatu’s confusion after his release. Sim, a driver who picked him up, remembers Kebatu constantly repeating, “Where am I going? What am I doing?” The prison had just discharged him without any direction. Release, you go, and they said to him, Go, you’re discharged, you go.
Wes Streeting expressed his dismay at the situation, stating, “I am appalled that this man was released. He should never have been on our streets. We will get to the bottom of what went wrong and we will make sure there is accountability and transparency with the public.”
Keir Starmer emphasized the need for swift action: “We must make sure this doesn’t happen again. We have ordered an investigation to establish what went wrong.”
The rearrest of Kebatu would, as reiterated by both Starmer and Justice Secretary David Lammy, now result in his deportation. The incident has raised significant questions about the efficacy of protocols designed to protect vulnerable populations from offenders such as Kebatu.