INQUEST HEARS BRITON DECLINED EVACUATION SPOT BEFORE MOZAMBIQUE DEATH

An inquest has heard that Philip Mawer, a British project manager, turned down a place in an evacuation convoy from Mozambique, insisting women and children go first. Mr Mawer, from Somerset, was working in Palma when fighters from the Isis-backed group Al-Shabaab attacked his hotel on 24 March 2021, and he was offered the place the next day. On 26 March, as tensions rose, he left the hotel in another convoy. A rocket-propelled grenade struck the vehicle he was driving and exploded, killing him instantly, Winchester Coroner's Court heard.

Mr Mawer was country manager for RA International, which was building worker accommodation for a new gas field in Mozambique, described at the inquest as Africa's largest gas operation. He had worked in Mozambique for ten years and told the company's chief executive, Soraya Narfeldt, that his local connections suited him to the role. The inquest heard terrorists were known to operate in the area, but the threat was assessed as low enough for work to continue. Energy companies and the Mozambique government ordered an evacuation of all staff in December 2020, but withdrew the order the following month.

On the day of the attack, Mr Mawer had been at work with fellow project manager and friend Gordon Rhattigan, who told the inquest Mr Mawer returned alone to their hotel, the Amarula, for lunch. He was then trapped by the siege, during which Al-Shabaab fighters had been beheading people in the area, and RA International advised him to remain inside. The company's chief operating officer, Lars Narfeldt, told the inquest early reports were not of a full-blown attack, but of fighting and machine gun fire. The inquest continues.