The Federal High Court dropped one of the charges brought forward by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission against the former Legal Department Head of the Ethiopian Customs Authority (ECA), Yohannes WoldeGebriel, who was also once chief prosecutor at the same Commission.

The prosecution’s charges against Yohannes were that he had abused his power. He was accused of having ordered the release of seized powdered soap, suspected of being contraband.

The charge was brought against him in January 2006, and after 10 months of reviewing his case, the Federal High Court ruled on November 10, 2006 that the indictment should be dropped. 

It decided that the prosecution had not been able to prove that Yohannes had in fact committed a crime and that there was nothing to show that he had abused of his authority. 

Nevertheless, although the Court has exempted Yohannes from this charge, he still faces yet another indictment – involving gold - that has been pending against him since October 2005. For this, he is still being held at the Kaliti Penitentiary.
 

Beginning in 2001, Yohannes was the Chief Prosecutor of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. He left after nearly three years of service to join the ECA as their Legal Department head.

There was no hitch until August 2004, when he became a suspect along with three other individuals when over 46kg of gold was caught being smuggled out of the country. He is still a suspect in this case.

Yohannes was accused of playing a part in trying to return the gold to its owner and was sent to jail in October 2005. He was thought to have allegedly softened the case by stating that the Commission did not have a solid case against the owner of the illegal gold shipment.
 

Although both Workineh Bereded, another Customs prosecutor working alongside Yohannes, and the owner of the gold, Daniel Makonnen, were also held by the Commission, the latter was not included in the charge when the case was officially opened on November 9, 2006, as the Anti-Corruption Commission decided that there was not enough evidence to indict or hold him.
 

In the powdered soap charges that were dropped, the Commission was charging Yohannes for abusing the authority vested in him by the Ministry of Justice in June 2003. It indicated that the Ministry reduced his jurisdiction to Addis Abeba only in December 2004. The Commission said that he had gone against this guideline in December 2005, when he ordered the release of confiscated goods at the northeastern Customs station in Welo.

According to the charges, GebreMedhin Abraha Tsige and other suspects were allegedly making their way to the northern part of the country with 1,706 cartons of Zahra powdered soap worth 129, 485 Br when they were stopped at the Customs station and the goods were confiscated until the situation was further investigated.

The now dropped charges further stated that Yohannes had requested that the case file be sent to him immediately and decided that the case did not need further scrutiny and ordered that the items as well as the suspects be released.

“By making this decision, it is clear that he was involved in corruption,” the Commission accused of him when the case was brought forward.
 

In order to prove the charge, the prosecution had called three witnesses and presented various documents as evidence.
 

“The charges are based on empty accusations,” Yohannes stated in a 15-page written response on January 13, 2006. “I am not guilty of taking advantage of the government or the Ethiopian people as the Commission would like to suggest. If anything I was rendering a service and upholding their rights. I was trying to ensure that the well being, benefits and wealth of individuals would not be tampered with. It is something that I did in a legal manner with all transparency and free of intrigue.”
 

He reminded the court that he had actually performed his duties within his jurisdiction.
 

“The cartons that were confiscated at the north eastern Customs station had fulfilled the necessary requirements and were cleared at the Addis Abeba La Gare Customs,” Yohannes said. “Therefore, it is only right that their situation should be reviewed by the Addis Abeba Customs, hence the reason their documents were requested to be sent to the capital so that a decision can be reached. This action was a completely legal one.”

In his defence, he listed seven witnesses, including the former ECA General Manager, Damtew Demiss, and also exhibited various documents that backed his statements. The charges were dropped before the witnesses were called to testify.

“The charges and proofs that have been submitted by the Commission are not enough to indict anyone,” the court ruled. “There is not enough evidence presented that could lead the court to believe that the defendant’s actions were motivated to benefit an individual.”

Despite the court ruling for Yohannes in the powdered soap case, the prosecution is still handling the gold affair that has been in Court for the past 13 months. The Court has set a ruling date for the middle of next month for the gold case.