Man 'stranded' abroad for 18 months set to return home

Siyabonga Twala, 35, has been stranded in Turkey since December 2022

A man who has been stranded in Turkey for 18 months after being barred from flying home due to a cannabis conviction is set to return to the UK.

Siyabonga Twala, 35, who lives in Chester, had been returning from a family holiday in December 2022 when he was stopped at an airport in Istanbul, Turkey.

An exclusion order preventing him from returning was withdrawn by the Home Office on Wednesday less than 24 hours before a judicial hearing was due to take place.

Mr Twala said he was "very happy" to be returning to the UK and was "looking forward to rebuilding his life".

Mr Twala was returning from a family holiday to South Africa when he was stopped

Mr Twala, who moved to the UK aged 15, was jailed for cannabis possession with intent to supply in 2018 and served four-and-a-half months of a nine-month sentence.

On his release, Mr Twala said the Home Office had tried to obtain a deportation order to South Africa but it was never signed.

Mr Twala had been flying home though Ankara in December 2022, when officials told him he could not board the flight because he had a conviction for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

The HGV driver had travelled with his family to South Africa to show his son, who is British, the country where he had grown up.

When the family made a connecting flight home in Turkey, the airline told Mr Twala the Home Office would not let him board the plane, he said.

He had since been stuck "in limbo" and had been living off handouts from his family who had also helped pay for a lawyer to help him return home.

Mr Twala said he now wants to rebuild his life in the UK

Mr Twala's lawyer, Nick Hughes, said the legislation the Home Office had used was usually reserved for terrorists or notorious criminals.

He said it was "frustrating" Mr Twala had had to spend 18 months "living in a country he had no connection to and did not speak the language".

"It's been very tough for him," Mr Hughes said.

"Finally the correct decision has been made."

Mr Twala said he had spent the past 18 month "living day by day" and "trying to stay humble and take each day as it comes".

"Its been really hard," he said.

He said he had relied on local people "taking him in" and had "had lost everything in the UK".

"I just want to try and put the pieces back as best as I can," he said.

"I want to resume my career in trucking, get back to work and focus on my son.

"I want to get back on my feet and rebuild my life."

Mr Twala said he expected to be able to fly home in the next few days as soon as paperwork confirming the Home Office permission is provided.

The Home Office said it could not comment on an individual cases.