59

The number of people currently under detention by court order since the Federal Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission began arresting senior government officials and private sector tycoons on May 10, 2013. The number had been 61 until two detainees were released on bail in the last week of June. Among these detainees is Melaku Fanta, former director general of the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority, whose office has been taken over by Beker Shalle, the former mayor of Adama town. Melaku, who is believed to be behind the increasing tax revenues the nation was able to achieve in the last few years, is reported to have been sick after his detainment and has been under a series of medical treatments. The Authority’s other senior official under detainment is Gebrewahid Woldergiorgis, Melaku’s deputy and the head of the Authority’s intelligence arm. The list of detainees includes the Authority’s regional officials and other business people in the private sector. The hearing, which has almost taken 2 months before any verdict, is ongoing with more investigations going on in Addis Ababa and other regions.