Charles Emile Mbayo/Sierra Leone/Extrajudicial Killings, Human Rights Violations

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Detroit removed suspected war criminal and criminal illegal alien Charles Emile Mbayo to Sierra Leone on August 20, ending his decades-long residence in the United States. Mbayo is a former high-ranking member of the National Provisional Ruling Council, the military junta that seized power in Sierra Leone after overthrowing President Joseph Momoh in an April 29, 1992 coup.

Under the junta, the NPRC struggled against the Revolutionary United Front while rumors of new coup plots spread through Freetown. On December 29, 1992, the regime extrajudicially executed about 29 detainees and accused plotters, including former officials, many of whom were tortured and buried in a mass grave. Mbayo later entered the United States on an F‑1 student visa on January 9, 1998, and a later bid for permanent residency was denied in July 2023.

An ERO Detroit field office spokesman said removing alleged human rights violators like Mbayo advances both public safety and national security, while HSI leadership stressed there will be no safe haven in the U.S. for those tied to atrocities.