Hadush Kebatu’s journey from Ethiopia to the UK was fraught with peril and controversy from the start. Arriving on British shores on June 29, 2025, after a grueling trek through Sudan, Libya, Italy, and France, Kebatu paid 2,500 euros for a risky Channel crossing in a rubber dinghy, according to The Telegraph. His arrival, however, would soon trigger a series of events that would draw national attention, spark political debate, and ultimately culminate in his forced deportation back to Ethiopia.
Just days after Kebatu’s arrival, the situation took a dark turn. On July 7, 2025, while living at the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex—a site used to house asylum seekers—Kebatu made sexually explicit comments to a 14-year-old girl who had offered him pizza. The next day, he sexually assaulted a woman and again targeted the same teenage girl, attempting to kiss her and ultimately assaulting her. The woman, witnessing Kebatu’s behavior, called 999, and Essex Police arrested him that night. As Essex Police later told Sky News, “Our officers responded quickly to the reports of the sexual assaults committed in Epping and arrested Hadush Kebatu on the same day the offences were reported to us. Kebatu was then immediately remanded in custody, while officers acted diligently and professionally securing charges and building a case which saw Kebatu convicted following a trial. Protecting women and girls is a priority for Essex Police and our swift and thorough actions highlight our commitment to this.”
The legal proceedings moved swiftly. Kebatu appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on July 10, 2025, denying all charges. That same month, anti-immigration protests erupted outside the Bell Hotel, reflecting simmering tensions in the community over the use of local accommodations for asylum seekers. By August, a temporary High Court injunction blocked the use of the Bell Hotel for asylum housing, though this was later overturned by the Court of Appeal, which stated, “the closure of one site means capacity needs to be identified elsewhere in the system.”
Kebatu’s trial commenced on August 26, 2025. He maintained his innocence, telling the court, “I’m not a wild animal.” Nevertheless, on September 4, 2025, he was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, one count of attempted sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity, and one count of harassment without violence. Sentencing followed on September 23: Kebatu received 12 months’ imprisonment, was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for a decade, and was made subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Deportation proceedings were initiated alongside his sentence.
But the story didn’t end there. On October 24, 2025, Kebatu was mistakenly released from HMP Chelmsford. Instead of being transferred to an immigration detention center as planned, a bureaucratic error saw him categorized as a prisoner eligible for release on license. He was handed a £76 discharge grant and left to his own devices. According to Sky News and The Telegraph, Kebatu was seen wandering outside the prison in a confused state, returning “four or five times” over roughly an hour and a half. A delivery driver observed him looking lost and unsure of where to go. Kebatu later recounted, “At that time I am waiting more than three hours... who [is] responsible for me? Where is Home Office, where is [immigration]? I was told there was a bus. Also, all the experts, they all ignored me.”
Eventually, Kebatu asked a passerby for directions to the train station. Someone helped him and even bought him a train ticket for £18. Surveillance and witness accounts place him boarding a train from Chelmsford to London at 12:41 pm. Later that evening, he was seen in Stratford and Dalston, east London. CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan Police showed Kebatu wearing a prison-issue tracksuit inside a library in Dalston Square at 6 pm.
The following morning, Kebatu claims he tried to hand himself in to police. In an interview with Sky News after his deportation, he stated, “I [told] police, look here, police I am wanted man, I am arrested, I will give you my hand, please help where is police station? He ignored me, he drove [off].” Kebatu insisted he made his identity and situation clear, adding, “You know me, or my image, my name is Hadush Kabatu, nationality Ethiopia. Please, I was the mistake release from Chelmsford prison. Please help me.”
The Metropolitan Police, however, disputed Kebatu’s account. In a statement to Sky News, they said, “The Met is not aware of any evidence to support the claims that Kebatu approached officers on Saturday morning. The actions of officers who responded to the sighting of him on Sunday morning show how seriously they were taking the manhunt. Kebatu’s actions on the morning of his arrest were more like those of someone trying to avoid officers, not trying to hand himself in.”
The manhunt, which had by then become national news, ended on October 26, 2025, when Kebatu was arrested at 8:30 am in the Finsbury Park area of London, following tips from the public. He was transferred to immigration custody, and, on the night of October 28, was deported to Ethiopia. He arrived back in his home country the next morning.
Political fallout was swift. Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy confirmed the timeline of Kebatu’s accidental release, stating in Parliament that Kebatu left prison at 10:25 am on October 24, 2025. Justice Secretary David Lammy (no relation) issued a statement emphasizing accountability: “Kebatu has been returned to Ethiopia where he belongs. I am grateful to Home Office colleagues for acting swiftly to secure his deportation. I have been clear from the outset that a mistake of this nature is unacceptable, and we must get to the bottom of what happened. I have established an independent investigation chaired by Dame Lynne Owens into last Friday’s events to get the public the answers they rightly deserve, and we have introduced the strictest checks ever seen in our prison system to stop similar unacceptable errors in future.”
The case has reignited debate over the management of asylum seekers, the adequacy of prison release protocols, and the challenges facing overstretched immigration and law enforcement systems. Community tensions, already high due to the use of local hotels for asylum accommodation, were further inflamed by the details of Kebatu’s crimes and the bureaucratic blunder that set him loose. While the government’s swift deportation and the launch of an independent inquiry have sought to reassure the public, the incident has left many questioning how such a mistake could happen—and whether enough is being done to prevent a repeat.
The saga of Hadush Kebatu, from his perilous journey to the UK to his rapid deportation, underscores the complex challenges at the intersection of immigration, criminal justice, and public safety—issues that remain as urgent and contentious as ever.
