Ethiopia’s federal high court Wednesday ruled out a 13 years rigorous imprisonment against Mitiku Kassa, the former Commissioner of Ethiopia’s Disaster Risk Management Commission over corruption and misappropriation of aid resources.
The Federal High Court, Lideta Bench, 5th Corruption Affairs Chamber, said it found Kassa guilty of inflating beneficiary numbers, diverting aid and taking the resources for personal benefits.
The case also involved his family members and Director of the Elshadai Relief and Development Association, Yamane Wolde-Mariam.
According to the trial, Kassa and his co-defendants repeatedly removed food supplies from the commission’s warehouses under the names of thousands of beneficiaries, selling items such as wheat, maize, oil, and rice to owners of flour mills and other buyers, ignoring intended recipients in the Amhara, Afar, Oromia, and Southern regions.
The offense is reported to have caused the government losses exceeding 472.8 million Ethiopian Birr.
The court also noted that vehicles and properties were purchased in the names of Mitiku’s spouse, Sofia Jemal, and their children.
Kassa received 13 years of rigorous imprisonment and a 50,000 Birr fine. His wife, Sofia Jemal, was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months and fined 3,000 Birr, while their daughter, Milka Mitiku, received 5 years of imprisonment and a 3,000 Birr fine.
The charges, initially filed in August 2022, were based on proclamations defining corruption crimes and relevant articles of the Criminal Code relating to embezzlement and money laundering.
MG/abj/APA