By Meron Agonafer
We have heard good and bad things about Sheik Al Amoudi. Some say he has done a great deal of service for Ethiopia by investing in the country, and other say that he has contributed a great deal to corrupt the society. Which ever way you look at it, he has either strong supporters or critics.
Given his enormous wealth and influence, he is an interesting subject for the media. His latest unwise move to openly campaign for the EPRDF regime has generated anger among Ethiopians and interest among the media to cover the story. I completely understand why the Etiopiawinet Radio host, Ato Merchaw Sinishaw, would want to cover this hot issue. After all, the general public was in the midst of elections to remove the TPLF/EPRDF regime from power, and, to everyone’s surprise, Al Amoudi used his prestige and fame to shore up support for the most detested regime in the history of Ethiopia. It was a huge disappointment for so many Ethiopians who have treated Al Amoudi as just a successful businessperson. He has betrayed Ethiopians by lending support to a regime that has brought so much misery upon them. For all his mishaps, instead of apologizing to the people, Al Amoudi is now suing Merchaw Sinishaw for simply echoing the sentiments of many patriotic Ethiopians.
Indeed, Al Amoudi has an enormous amount of money to hire the best lawyers money can buy. He has the best defense team to even protect him from big powers, let alone from a small fish like Merchaw. What Al Amoudi is doing to Merchaw has touched a sensitive cord. A billionaire who resides in Ethiopia can use his money to silence his critics in the Diaspora. I wonder what he will do to his opponents who live inside Ethiopia. This is America. The system will allow Merchaw to have his day in court, unlike the corrupted legal system in Addis Ababa!