Man who had trapped and attacked a woman is returned to jail after he failed to leave the country as a condition of his sentence

By Fiona Ferguson

A man who trapped and attacked a woman before beginning to masturbate in front of her has been returned to jail for two years after failing to leave the country as a condition of his sentence.

Chico Makamda (39) had been sentenced in 2019 to seven and a half years with the final two and a half years suspended on condition that he leave the country within 14 days of his release.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday that Makamda failed to leave the country as required after being released in January 2022 and has since accrued two convictions for failing to notify gardai of his address as required for registration under the Sex Offenders Act.

Taking the stand, Makamda told the court he had been waiting for gardai to return his wallet and phone.

Gardai said Makamda did not have these in his possession when originally arrested.

Garda Ruth Finnegan said 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 they do not know his nationality.

He has been in custody since June.

His defence counsel, Keith Spencer BL, told the court Makamda was willing to leave the country.

“I am sure he is willing to leave now”, said Judge Melanie Greally, before reactivating the entire two and a half year suspended portion of the sentence

“I was not aware when I suspended such a significant part of the sentence on one simple condition that it was a condition that would be so difficult to implement,” she said.

“I don’t believe he has made any genuine effort to comply.”

She noted he has accrued further convictions and said he had no intention of complying with any other conditions attached.

“I am quite satisfied there was an intentional decision on his part not to comply with the order,” said Judge Greally. She ordered the sentence to run from today’s date.

Makamda, formerly with an address at Viking House, Coffee House Lane, The Quay, Waterford, had pleaded guilty at to sexual assault, false imprisonment and robbery at Adare Lane, Dublin, on April 16, 2018. Judge Greally originally sentenced him in March 2019.

During the revocation hearing yesterday, Gda Finnegan told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, that he was released on January 13, 2022 and arrested ten days later after failing to give details pursuant to the Sex Offenders Act. He was remanded in custody until March at that stage.

He was re-arrested in April, received a backdated two month sentence for failing to notify gardai and was released in May. He was arrested again on June 28.  She said GNIB also attempted to assist him in leaving the jurisdiction.

The garda told Mr Spencer that while Makamda was initially arrested ten days after his release, he did have 14 clear days at a later point when released from custody to leave the jurisdiction as required.

Gda Finnegan said they did not know his nationality. He has stated he is Angolan but the Angolan embassy has said that is not correct.

At the original sentence hearing in 2019, Garda Finnegan told the court that in the early hours of the morning, a woman in her early fifties was on her way home after a night out when she stopped in Adare Lane to relieve herself behind some bins.

Makamda approached her and blocked her in beside the bins. He punched her three times in the stomach and she fell onto the ground, hitting her head on the concrete.

He attempted to pull her jeans down and kept trying to lie on top of her while the woman tried to stop him. He then stood up, took out his penis and began masturbating.

The woman managed to stand up and pull her jeans fully up. Makamda put his penis away but continued to block her from escaping.

Makamda fled when another man arrived and said he would call the gardaí. After he was gone, the woman realised that her wallet and phone were missing from her handbag.

Gda Finnegan agreed with Paul Carroll SC, defending, that a lot of what his client said in interview “does not make a heap of sense”.

Makamda has 15 previous convictions, including for an offence of indecency and for the false imprisonment of a woman in a laneway. He has been in Ireland since 2009.

Mr Carroll said his client had no connection with any family members and had effectively been homeless for some time. He asked the judge to take into consideration the fact that Makamda had a low range of cognitive ability according to a psychiatric report.

Sentencing him in 2019, Judge Greally said it was clear from the victim impact report that the woman had been “completely traumatised” and that she now fears to go outside. She said each of the offences were aggravated by the impact they had on the victim and by the level of violence.

She said she was taking into consideration his early guilty pleas, his admissions to gardaí, his social isolation in Ireland and the difficulty that prisoners from outside the country face while imprisoned.