Stock of weapons found in the houses of 2 former TPLF officials

    
ESAT News   October 24, 2013
According to Ethiopian law, an individual is permitted to hold a single licensed weapon. However, it is to be recalled that the government had in recent times been collecting weapons from all licensed and unlicensed gun holders in the name of weapon searches. During the 2005 election, the government had armed a certain ethnic group for self defence purposes, it was reported.
This week, in the charges of the high profile corruption case of former Customs Director, Melaku Fenta et al., the prosecutor general said that it has found two Kalashnikovs, 2 pistols and one star pistol in total 9 weapons in the house of former Customs Deputy Director and official of the TPLF,  Gebrewahed Woldegiorgis. Similarly in the house of the other defendant, member of the TPLF and former top official of the National Intelligence, Woldeselassie W/Michael, two submachine guns, one Uzi submachine gun, one star pistol, one smoke bomb and different types of bullets were seized.
It has been widely reported that Woldeselassie had a close relationship with Azeb Mesfin, the widow of the late Prime Minister, but was in grudge and fall outs with the Head of Ethiopian Intel, Getachew Assefa.

Similarly, local newspapers have reported that the Court heard new accusations of adultery against Melaku Fenta. Melaku has been accused of using his governmental power to lure a married woman who came to his office seeking official assistance on taxation, to leave her husband and her three children and marry him. The prosecutors of the Federal Corruption Commission said Melaku abused his power to personally help Mekdes Lema and use public resources to adulterate her.
The Commission’s prosecutors have also found that Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amloudi’s MIDROC and the state owned Metal & Engineering Corp. (Metec), which is headed by General Kinfe Dagnew, were involved in corrupt practices including the import of untaxed goods. However, both companies and heads of the companies have not been sued.