ETHIOPIA: Judges Resign & more – 19th June 2025

Salaam salaam from BA! This is the Rorshok Ethiopia Update from the 19th of June twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Ethiopia.

The House of Peoples’ Representatives passed a law on Tuesday the 17th that will enable the government to seize property from citizens if they can’t explain the sources of their property before court.

Even though the government insists that the bill will be used to combat crime and terrorism by taking away the fruits of criminal enterprise, many have criticized it, saying that it will enable the government to target wealthy individuals, celebrities, journalists and politicians.

In addition to its purpose, some members of the House also criticized clauses in the bill that allow prosecutors to charge suspects on the basis of property acquired up to ten years ago, violating the principle of non-retroactivity.

Changing gears, a local news outlet reported early this week that three Supreme Court judges who have served in the courts’ system for over twenty years recently resigned.

The three judges all left office willingly and indicated in their resignation letters that they are departing due to unspecified personal reasons. The Judicial Administration Council accepted their resignation, indicating that during their time of service, they’ve never had disciplinary issues.

Even though the reasons haven’t been specified, it could be because of the low compensation and benefits that judges receive compared to lawyers. Judges in various parts of the country have been resigning in droves for this reason.

More news from courts, this time from southern Ethiopia in the Sidama region, as its Supreme Court acquitted the former mayor of Hawassa, the region’s capital, after he appealed the decision of lower courts sentencing him to thirteen years in prison on corruption charges.

The former mayor has been in custody for two years and during that time he denied that he committed the crimes he was charged with, with his wife saying political motives are behind the prosecution.

Speaking of courts and judges, on Saturday the 14th, the Real Estate Developers Association revealed at its launch that it has plans to establish an arbitration panel that will settle cases between developers and buyers. The panel will consist of professionals from the legal and engineering fields and could bring down the number of cases that developers and buyers bring before courts.

During the event, an expert on the matter presented a study indicating that although about nine hundred thousand people registered for the government’s long-term housing payment program, a little over a third have received homes.

According to a survey discussed at the event, over half of house buyers are not satisfied with the properties they bought.

On another note, The Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions said it has asked the Ministry of Finance to set the minimum taxable wage at a little over eight thousand birr per month, which is around fifty US dollars. Meanwhile, the government is in the process of amending the tax code and plans to set the minimum taxable wage at around two thousand birr per month, which is thirteen US dollars.

The Confederation also wants the thirty-five percent maximum tax rate to apply only to those workers earning over a hundred and fifty thousand birr a month, which is a thousand US dollars.

In other news, Ervin Massinga, the US ambassador to Ethiopia, suggested in a press release on Thursday the 12th at the US embassy in Addis Ababa, that the government create an enabling environment for citizens to become self-sufficient and not rely on foreign aid.

Still, he said he doesn’t believe that the decision of Trump’s administration to stop aid will mean a complete halt to the aid Ethiopia will receive going forward, adding that the country is still benefiting from previously allocated funds, with eighty-nine percent still being used for humanitarian support.

He also said the conflicts in various regions must stop to bring about peace and prosperity, and stressed the importance of returning internally displaced people in the Tigray region to their homes.

Next up, Addis Ababa’s Education and Training Quality Control Authority said almost three hundred new private educational institutions, including colleges, will open in the city in the upcoming academic year, after being given certificates.

The institutions will receive the Authority’s certification if they fulfill the educational and administrative requirements, including providing equipment and hiring teachers who maintain the minimum required qualification.

However, the Authority added that these new institutions, which have received certification, might have it taken away and be forced to shut down if they no longer fulfill the requirements.

Still, the Association said it will work with them to help them maintain their status before forcing them to close.

Additionally, the Authority also said it has allowed over a thousand private schools to increase tuition fees by up to sixty-five percent, raising concerns among the public.

More news on education as Gondar University is planning on becoming the second ever autonomous university free from government control, after Addis Ababa University. This means the University will, in the long run, rely on revenue it brings in on its own and not on funds from the government.

Along with Gondar, nine other universities are working to become autonomous. Recall that Parliament passed a bill on the universities’ autonomy two years ago to ensure that they have academic, administrative, and financial freedom.

The University also inaugurated twenty-two projects, having spent a total of four billion birr, which is over twenty-five million US dollars, on Sunday the 15th, among them a radiation therapy center for cancer treatment.

Meanwhile, The International Medical Corps said on Friday the 13th that MPox cases have been reported in several of Ethiopia’s regions, including the capital Addis Ababa, with the number of cases reported reaching nineteen, according to an update from the Ministry of Health revealed on Sunday the 15th.

Out of the nineteen reported cases, only one has been fatal, six people are healing and twelve patients have fully recovered. The Ministry of Health reported the first case late last month in the southernmost part of the country.

Another health issue in Ethiopia is Cholera. The disease broke out in January this year mainly in the Amhara region in central Ethiopia, with over two thousand cases and fifteen deaths reported since.

Fortunately, the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention said recently that cases have declined over the past few weeks. It said it had sent its experts to the Amhara region in April to observe, prevent and control the outbreak.

Still on the health topic, medical professionals are not happy with their wages. Their dissatisfaction led to a standoff with the government. Recently, the Ethiopian Health Professionals Association said that the Civil Society Organizations Authority has suspended it, alleging that the Association used faulty seals and didn’t convene for a general assembly.

Members say these allegations have already been resolved after a lawsuit last year and that this suspension is very likely due to the Association’s support for professionals during the strikes.

And to wrap up this episode, Ethiopia and Morocco will cooperate militarily after signing an agreement on Tuesday the 17th in Morocco’s capital, Rabat. Aisha Mohammed, the Minister of Defense, signed the deal on behalf of Ethiopia.

The agreement comes after Lieutenant General Mohammed Berid, Morocco’s commander of the southern zone, led a military delegation’s visit to Ethiopia in April this year to discuss collaboration in cybersecurity, the defense industry, and AI.

Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, Ethiopia’s Chief of General Staff, also went to the North African nation back in August twenty twenty-four, when the two countries showed interest in deepening ties between their militaries.

The current agreement sees the two countries pledging to improve cooperation through joint training, scientific research, and military health programs.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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