Timothy Roberts, the manager of Amarula Hotel in Mozambique, has defended his decision to evacuate by helicopter with two dogs while British contractor Philip Mawer, 58, remained at the siege location and was subsequently killed. An inquest heard that Roberts was instructed by the hotel owners to board a chartered helicopter on March 26, 2021, as ISIS-backed militants attacked the coastal town of Palma. Mawer, originally from Somerset, had declined an earlier helicopter evacuation, insisting that women and children should be prioritised, and was later killed when his vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade whilst attempting to flee in a road convoy shortly after Roberts's departure.

Roberts told the inquest he had repeatedly attempted to convince Mawer to leave the hotel but that Mawer had refused. The helicopter, chartered at a cost of £11,200, carried Roberts, three staff members, and the two dogs, with the aviation company's CEO stating the dogs occupied no passenger seats. Roberts had been working as a project manager for RA International on a major gas field project run by TotalEnergies and had known Mawer since the Covid lockdown in 2020. The inquest revealed that a convoy left the hotel at 15:15 hours, with Roberts being evacuated simultaneously whilst the convoy came under attack.