Ethiopia: Ruling party holds emergency meeting as officials, businessmen arrested for alleged corruption

ESAT News (December 30, 2016)

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) called an emergency meeting on Friday as over one hundred government officials and businessmen have reportedly been arrested for an alleged corruption.

Information reaching ESAT indicate the government had also frozen the assets of the alleged corrupt officials and businessmen. The report by media affiliated with the ruling party did not provide names of the officials and businessmen arrested on Friday.

Members of the executive committee of the EPRDF have reportedly converged in Addis Ababa for the extraordinary meeting that came amid  infighting by the members as to the future of the party that is awashed with favoritism and corruption at the highest level.

Earlier in the week, chairman and founder of TPLF, Sebehat Nega, who holds no official position at the moment, warned that the country will fall apart if EPRDF fails to bring corrupt officials to justice. In an exclusive interview with the state run Addis Zemen newspaper, Sebehat Nega admitted that the EPRDF has never faced a crisis of this magnitude.

The organ of TPLF, Radio Fana, quoting police said 130 of the 260 suspects have been arrested and the assets of 13 suspects have been frozen.

The emergency meeting by the ruling coalition is expected to divulge the identities of the arrested individuals.