The Federal High Court, 8th Criminal Bench adjourned the case of Tewodros Kassahun a.k.a ‘Teddy Afro’ until Monday November 3, 2008 for a final verdict.
After his lawyer Million Assefa completed presenting witnesses and documents in evidence to explain Teddy’s innocence of the charge of hit and run, on October 16, 2008 the Court also heard other witnesses and documentary evidence.
On the day’s session 4 witnesses appeared with two giving testimony including 14th witness Dr. Lasperto Moya, from Minilik II Hospital, who appeared again after the objection of the prosecutor over the translator’s accuracy on last week session. The witness is Cuban. The Court ruled to bring another translator for Thursday trial. Lasperto was present with another translator from the Cuban Embassy. The 14th witness was presented as the prosecution’s witness. Of the three other witnesses only Constable Kebede Weyese gave testimony, also presented as the prosecutor’s witness. The other two witnesses did not give testimonials.
Teddy was jailed six and half months ago after being charged with a hit and run.
He was first detained briefly in November 2006, when the incident occurred and released on 50,000 birr bail, before being apprehended by the police again and taken to Kaliti prison facility, 25kms east of Addis Ababa.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA – The management of the Ethiopian Airlines (Ethiopian) is in the process of acquiring a state-of-the-art information technology (IT) system, at a budgeted cost of 30 million dollars, reliable sources disclosed to Fortune.
The new system, dubbed master systems integration services, is required to automate the airlines’ operations in its finance, human resources, supply chain management, data warehousing, and corporate portal areas.
“The airlines’ operation has reached a stage where it can no longer run without such a system,” Kemeredin Bederu, vice president for IT Division, told Fortune.
Although the national carrier has an existing IT system, it is not deemed sufficient for its growing operations, said industry sources. Ethiopian has achieved what it sought in its “Vision 2010,” a strategic plan that sets targets on revenues and passenger numbers:It has already generated the one billion dollars revenues one and half years ahead of the scheduled time, and the number of passengers have exceeded the two billion mark espoused in the strategic plan. Its profit from operations in the past Ethiopian fiscal year was over 50 million dollars, reliable sources disclosed.
And the number of fleets it has under operation has grown from 11 to 27; additional Dreamliner aircrafts, Boeing’s highly sophisticated planes, are expected to be delivered next year. These are the type of aircrafts that are fully linked to an IT system on the ground, where technicians can identify any malfunction while they are in flight, and resume maintenance immediately after they land.
“This will substantially reduce the time the aircraft would stay on the ground,” Kemeredin said.
These are the backdrops that prompted the airline to spend close to 300 million Br in acquiring a new IT system, according to industry experts. In fact, no other domestic company is prepared to spend such an amount in automating its operations. Not even the nation’s biggest financial institution, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), comes close to this; the bank’s plans to invest four times lower (70 million Br) to acquire an IT system from foreign firms in its desire to launch an electronic card payment system.
“[The] Ethiopian Airlines’ philosophy will be to adopt a new airline best practice business process as enabled by the supplied system,” the national carrier said, inviting international firms to bid for the contract.
The successful bidder will have to develop an IT solution that will also integrate the company’s current system, according to the tender announcement issued in the state-owned English daily, The Ethiopian Herald, in September 2008.
“It’ll have to transform our operations,” Girma Wake, CEO, told Fortune.
Ethiopian will become the first airline in sub-Saharan Africa to acquire such a vast technological system, according to Zemedeneh Negatu, manager partner of Ernst & Young, the American consultancy firm hired to advise the company on this project in April 2008.
It will not be alone; SATYAM, an Indian company specialized in IT, has also been subcontracted for consultancy by the national carrier in its effort to buy the new technology.
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – Cybercafés in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia are using the picture of US presidential candidate, Barack Obama, on their adverts to encourage Ethiopians to register for the 2009 US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery or Green Card Lottery.
APA noted that a good number of internet cafes are using Obama’s photo on their front door banners to “encourage” customers to fill the 2009 DV lottery.
“I am using his photo to attract customers to fill the 2009 DV lottery because I know that he has many supporters here in Ethiopia,” Emebet Tesema, an internet cafe owner in Addis Ababa told APA.
According to her, at least 30 people fill the DV lottery form in her cafe per day.
“I believe his picture helps attract many customers. I support Obama even though I am not an American citizen and I can’t vote,” said Tesema.
Tesema was however unable to explain why she is supporting Obama.
Internet cafe owner Bekelu Leul also told APA that he is using Obama’s picture to “attract” customers to his internet cafe.
“Yes, my business got better since I started using Obama’s photo for advertisement,” said Leul.
However, both Leul and Tesema do not have any legal knowledge on the use of an individual’s picture for advertisement.
“We are here-in Addis Ababa-who will legally challenge us for using his photo?” both of them asked.
Over 15 million Ethiopians are expected to fill the 2009 DV lottery.
Many people are also wearing Obama T-shirts in the Ethiopian capital.
Democratic candidate Obama is of Kenyan origin.
The DV program is a US congressionally mandated lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card.
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) makes available 50,000 permanent resident visas annually to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.
Gallup Poll Daily tracking from Friday through Sunday gives Barack Obama an 11 percentage point lead over John McCain in the presidential vote preferences of all registered voters, 52% to 41%.
Ethiopians in Washington DC will hold a rally in Washington DC at the State Department on Oct. 24, 2008, to protest the atrocities and war crimes that are being committed against the people of Ethiopia by the regime of Tigrean People Liberation Front.
The protest will particularly focus on the genocide in Ogaden and the atrocities in the Oromiya region.
As reported by international human rights groups and media, the Meles regime is systematically eliminating Ogadenis by burning their villages, terrorizing the population, and starvation (read more about war crimes in Ogaden here here).
Place: U.S. Department of State
Time/Date: Friday, Oct. 24, 2008, at 9:00 AM
After spending eight years behind bars in Ethiopian jails for presumed links with the terrorist Al Qaeda network, eight Kenyans speak out about their terrible ordeal.
After being secretly detained in Ethiopia for more than one year, eight Kenyans were allowed to return home. These men were arrested in January of last year soon after the collapse of the Islamic courts in Somalia.
Accused of being members of Al Qaeda, they were detained without being officially charged of any crime, and were not allowed to contact a lawyer before being sent to Ethiopia. Thirty three year old Kassim Moussa, returns to his village of Bongwe, 30 km south of Mombasa. He lost everything and can only now help his parents to cultivate their land.
Today Kassim Moussa’s father explains to the village how he had no news about his son or his whereabouts for over a year. The meeting is organised by the Muslim forum for human rights who accuses the Kenyan government of deporting illegally its own citizens. All these ex-detainees are telling the same story. They recount how they remained handcuffed and blindfolded for months.
Bashir Hussein shows wounds he says he incurred while being detained by Ethiopian soldiers TPLF Thugs and also while he was interrogated by CIA agents. These accusations have been denied by the Ethiopian government Woyanne. Some ex-detainees had to be admitted to hospital upon their arrival here. The Muslim forum for human rights have gathered their testimonies in order to sue the Kenyan government but Kenyan authorities still consider that their innocence has not yet been proven.
