Mager News Update – Wednesday, July 20, 2022 (Hamle 14, 2014 EC)
Today’s updates from Mager Media are as follows:
- Balderas for True Democracy (Balderas) Party has called for Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abiebie’s legal immunity to be revoked;
- Amhara residents in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone (Oromia Region, Ethiopia) are calling for urgent help and
- Residents of Raya Kobo Woreda (North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia) have been without electricity for over a year.
Balderas Party has called for the Mayor of Addis Ababa’s legal immunity to be revoked
Balderas for True Democracy (Balderas) Party issued a press release today, Wednesday, July 20, 2022 (Hamle 13, 2014 EC) in connection with the case of the scammed condominium lottery, has called for Addis Ababa Mayor Adanech Abiebie’s legal immunity to be lifted so she may be held accountable in court. The statement can be found below:
Press Release
The matters we would like to bring to the attention of the people include: 1) that the Addis Ababa Mayor’s legal immunity should be lifted & she should face accountability, and 2) that the raising of the Oromia regional flag should not be raised & the Oromia nationalist anthem should not be sung in Addis Ababa.
The human rights violations being committed against the Ethiopian people by the ruling party including those against political, economic & personal rights have worsened over time. Of all our country’s parts, Addis Ababa is the main area where the ruling OPDO [Oromo People’s Democratic Organization; Oromo Prosperity Party] Prosperity (Party) has placed its criminal hand.
The administration of Mayor Adanech Abiebie is among the worst & destructive encountered by our city based on its hatred for the identity of the people which is speedily pushing the city & the wider country towards further ruin. This was seen in the recent fraudulent lottery which resulted in the misallocation of condominium houses. In this approach, there is extensive evidence to show that Ms. Adanech Abiebie in her capacity as mayor, was not only part of this policy but was also involved in leading it.
Among these (one of the pieces of evidence), in the hours preceding the fraudulent lottery, a delegate sent from the mayor’s office arrived to the scene, opened a computer as he tampered with the process & the delegate’s activities were not followed in any capacity. This evidence alone is sufficient grounds for police to investigate the mayor & is not unknown even to our country’s flawed justice system. However, it has been designed so the mayor, despite being a corrupt ethnocentric official, cannot be held accountable (holds immunity).
In addition to this, it has been discovered that the mayor herself retrieved a sensitive flash drive outside of the legal procedure. Prior to this, the lottery software used by the mayor’s administration was ideal for fraudulent use & designed by the federal innovation & technology ministry as confirmed in a letter to which they took no action.
In this context, bypassing the mayor and taking action against other Addis Ababan officials & professionals exposes the justice system’s emptiness and bias. All citizens should be held to the same laws, the mayor’s legal immunity should be revoked and she should face questioning by police on the allegations.
There are numerous matters that may legally implicate the mayor including complicity in and ongoing cover provided to regime agents in the war being waged against the identity of Addis Ababa, its administrative freedom and its psychological makeup.
The silent invasion of the city reached a new climax this week as the mayor declared that the Oromia regional constitution would be enforced in the city and that Oromia regional songs would be sung and the Oromia regional flag would be bolstered (in the city).
For this reason, Balderas for True Democracy Party calls for the government to take swift action regarding the following matters:
- Regarding the fraudulent condominium lottery, the mayor’s legal immunity should be lifted and she should be held accountable by the law;
- The Oromia regional constitution should not be enforced in Addis Ababa, and
- The Oromia regional flag and anthem should not be forcefully bolstered and sung, respectively in schools in Addis Ababa.
Balderas for True Democracy Party
July 20, 2022 (Hamle 13, 2014 EC)
Ethiopia
Mager Media spoke to Balderas Party official Ms. Keleb Siyoum who said despite the public being aware of the corruption of the mayor’s administration, Balderas Party is following the matter closely to ensure that the public and medias are made aware of what is happening.
She adds, the ruling party must hold all citizens equal in the eyes of the law and has a duty to bring the mayor to justice and that Balderas party will continue to provide information to the public on the administration’s destructive activities.
In connection with the Friday, July 8, 2022 (Hamle 1, 2014 EC) condominium lottery for the 20/80 and 40/60 homes, the Addis Ababa technical vocational training and technology development office and its head are suspected of serious corruption crimes, and an additional seven software professionals who were arrested and brought to court.
Amhara residents in Horo Guduru Wollega Zone (Oromia Region, Ethiopia) are in urgent need of protection
Amhara residents in Amuru Woreda (district) of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone (Oromia Region, Ethiopia) told Mager Media they fear a potential massacre by the Oromo Liberation Front/Army (OLF/A) and local Qerro [Oromo vigilante youth]. Over the past week, following the death of an OLA member, Amhara residents have feared a potential attack by local Qerro and OLA as security forces vacated the area two weeks ago, federal police have said the matter is beyond their control and are only guarding banks and a select few government buildings; while Oromo Special Forces (OSF) are present, residents say they cannot rely on OSF to protect them (due to past instances of collaboration with OLA).
In recent days in the same woreda, many Amhara residents were arrested and have been facing intense harassment and suffering following the sudden death of a Qerro youth (due to unknown circumstances), and among the detained Amharas is a 3-month pregnant mother of two twin infants. Residents have reported local Qerro, OLA, police, OSF and Oromo community members were all involved in attacks against the Amhara community however under current circumstances the situation has worsened which has led to residents fearing an attack and calling for help from all Ethiopians.
Residents of Raya Kobo have been without electricity for over a year
Residents of towns in Raya Kobo Woreda (North Wollo Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia) have said it has been over a year since they were cut off from electrical services. They expressed that as a result of the interruption in electrical services in the woreda, they have encountered numerous social, economic and related problems.
Due to the interruption in electrical services, it has become impossible for locals to be informed of what is transpiring in the country and that retrieving water from underground has been disrupted. It has become known that towns cut off from electrical services in Raya Kobo Woreda include Robit, Gobiye, Zobel and Worke. Raya Kobo Woreda was one of many woredas formerly completely under the control of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) however even now, many kebeles (wards) remain under TPLF control.
