By Alazar Terefe
Four individuals in Ethiopia have been sentenced to death for murdering taxi drivers by pretending to be passengers and stealing their vehicles.
The court found the defendants guilty of luring drivers to remote locations, killing them, and selling the stolen vehicles.
The convicted individuals, identified as Theodoros Birhane, Eyuel Tewodros, Teferi Tesfaye, and Yohannes Arefa, carried out their crimes in various areas including Addis Ababa, Gelan Sub-city, Saris, Bishoftu, and surrounding areas.
Mideksa Agaru, the Prosecutor of the Sheger City Administration’s Office for Investigating Various Crimes, confirmed the details of the case.
According to the prosecutor, the group would contact taxi drivers, take them to isolated places, and then murder them before stealing their vehicles. The stolen cars were hidden and later sold to various garages and individuals.
In one incident, defendants Theodoros Birhane and Eyuel Tewodros lured Solomon Ali, a driver of an ISUZU truck, by asking him to transport wood from Dukem City to Bishoftu City.
After convincing him to take a detour toward Sandafa, they shot him and stole his truck, which they later sold for 700,000 birr.
In another case, Teferi Tesfaye and Yohannes Arefa killed Kebede Belew, a public minibus driver from Addis Ababa.
They lured him to Gelan town by taking him off the main road, murdered him, and abandoned his body in a place called Andode. They later sold his vehicle.
Similarly, a meter taxi driver, Mikias Tesfaye, was called late at night by Eyuel Tewodros, who claimed he needed a ride to pick up a guest from Bole International Airport.
After killing Mikias, they stole his Toyota Corolla and hid it, but later revealed its location during the police investigation.
The police arrested Theodoros Birhane and Eyuel Tewodros after extensive surveillance. Following their confessions, the investigation led to the recovery of the stolen vehicles and confirmed their involvement in the murders of Solomon Ali and Mikias Tesfaye.
The police also apprehended Teferi Tesfaye and Yohannes Arefa in Saris Doro Tera after identifying them as Kebede’s killers.
Based on the police investigation, the prosecutor filed charges under Article 530 of the Ethiopian Criminal Code, which deals with organized and brutal murder.
The Sheger City Administration High Court, after reviewing the evidence and the severity of the crimes, sentenced all four individuals to death.
Additionally, those who collaborated with the criminals by hiding or helping to sell the stolen vehicles were sentenced to imprisonment and fined.
According to Prosecutor Mideksa Agaru, the court recognized the extreme danger posed by the defendants’ actions, which involved premeditated murder and theft, leading to their sentencing.
