The African Development Bank (AfDB) announced on Wednesday its decision to withdraw its international staff from Ethiopia, following the October incident where Ethiopian security forces arrested and assaulted two staffers.
The AfDB reported that these Addis Ababa-based staff members faced unlawful arrest, physical assault, and hours of detention without any charges or official justification.
“These measures will not affect nationally recruited staff from Ethiopia who will continue their work and remain in the full employment of the Bank. The Bank will assure them and their families of its duty of care.” the African bank said in a statement.
“These decisions follow the recent breach of diplomatic protocol and assault by Ethiopian security forces on two of the African Development Bank’s international members of staff.” it added.
On October 31, during a visit to Ethiopia’s finance ministry by the country manager, the AfDB experienced assaults. According to two individuals knowledgeable about the situation, fraudsters conducted an email phishing incident. This incident caused more than $5 million, which was supposed to be deposited into the bank, to vanish.
It remains uncertain whether the attacks on the AfDB officials by the ministry’s security guards have a direct connection to the missing funds. The bank is waiting for the results of Ethiopia’s investigation, which they anticipate will be quick and transparent.
The senior leadership of AfDB in Addis Ababa, under the guidance of Ethiopia’s country manager Abdul Kamara, faced initial detention. Later, they suffered a violent assault. This attack left Kamara with noticeable facial injuries, as seen in a photo viewed by Semafor Africa. This photo has circulated among influential Ethiopian social media circles.
Akinwumi Adesina, president of AfDB, has made efforts to assure the staff that they are handling the matter with the utmost seriousness. He has also contacted Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, regarding the incident.
As a precautionary step, Adesina stated that the bank’s international staff in Ethiopia will operate remotely. This arrangement will continue until the government transparently shares the results of its investigations into the serious incident with the bank. Additionally, they will wait until the public receives complete information about the actions taken to hold the culprits accountable.
