Mohammed Emwazi: Tanzania claims 'Jiahdi John' suspect was refused entry because he was drunk and insulting staff
Tanzania denied reports they were tipped off by British security services
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tanzania's home affairs minister claims Mohammed Emwazi and his friends were refused entry to the country in 2009 because he was drunk and insulting staff – not because they were tipped-off by security services about his arrival.
Emwazi, who was identified in reports as the Isis militant Jihadi John, was detained by Tanzanian authorities along with two university friends when they arrived at an airport in Dar-es-Salaam. There, Emwazi was reportedly told the UK Government could be behind the group being refused entry into the country.
But Tanzania's home affairs minister Mathias Chikawe said the reason Emwazi and two friends were turned away was because they were "very drunk", according to The Times.
The newspaper reports that Emwazi and his companions had embarked on a ten-hour drinking session during the flight from Amsterdam.
Mr Chikawe said: "They were refused entry because they disembarked from the plane very drunk.
"They were insulting our immigration staff and other people."
He said there had been “no information from anywhere” to suggest that they were criminal suspects.
The trio were held at a police station overnight and put on a flight to Amsterdam the next day, where Emwazi claimed he was questioned by "Nick, from MI5".
He was allegedly suspected of flying to the country with the intent of joining the Islamist militant group al-Shabaab.
Advocacy group Cage recently released an audio recording of an interview they claimed to be with Emwazi in which he said he was threatened by the agent during questioning at Schipol airport in Amsterdam.
On Thursday it emerged that Emwazi may have fled the UK in the back of a freight lorry on a Channel ferry to avoid detection by police. He had been known to MI5 and was on the Home Office Warnings Index, which prevented him from leaving the country.
Additional reporting by PA