At a sitting of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Melanie Greally, who at the beginning of the year had suspended two and a half years of a seven and a half year sentence imposed following Makamda’s conviction for a sexual assault and robbery in Dublin in April 2018, sent him back to prison to serve out the remaining term.
As was reported by Gript in April, Makamda has been seen in Dublin since his release and was clearly making no attempt to leave the country. Despite the claims that this was bizarrely something that was being left up to his own discretion, the authorities appear to have now come to take a dimmer view of the matter.
Justice Greally told the Court: “When I suspended such a significant part of the sentence on one simple condition . . . I don’t believe he has made any genuine effort to comply.”
Makamda’s defence counsel, Keith Spencer, responded by stating that Makamda is now willing to depart Erin’s green shores. Which elicited the response from Justice Greally that: “I am sure he is willing to leave now.”
Not only that, but Makamda has added to his portfolio of convictions since his release from the Midlands Prison by failing to notify Gardaí of his address as he is required to do as a registered sexual offender. He was arrested on foot of this in June and has been in custody since then.
Although Makamda has been described as being a citizen of Angola, the court heard that it now transpires that the Angolan embassy here claim to know nothing of him, which means his country of origin is unknown.
Court News Ireland said that the court was told:
the Garda National Immigration Bureau had attempted to make several appointments with Makamda to assist him in leaving the country but the information he gave them was incorrect and his actual nationality remains unknown.
When questioned about Makamda’s continued presence in Ireland at the end of April by Rural Independent TD for Laois/Offaly, Carol Nolan, the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee described the whole deportation business as a “complex matter.”
The whole thing is obviously complex given that this person has been in the country since 2009 claiming to be seeking asylum for some unknown reason claiming to be from a country that it appears now says knows nothing of him. During that time he has racked up 18 convictions including two for sexual offences. It would not be unkind to say that Mr. Makamda has not been an asset to the country.
Why he was allowed into the country, why he was allowed to stay here, and why it has taken so long to catch up with him following his failure to deport as was the condition of his early release from prison are questions that need to be answered.
It is also crystal clear that the entire asylum process needs to be overhauled in the interests of the safety of people who are legitimately here.
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