The Ethiopian Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested a top sergeant of the Federal Police for allegedly accusing an Ethiopian woman of involvement in terrorism and later forcing her to bribe her way out of the charges.
Sergeant Mamo Shalo, head of the surveillance department at Bole International Airport, was apprehended last week after he was caught in the act of taking a hundred dollar bribe from a woman, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) stated in a press statement.
According to the EACC, Sergeant Mamo subsequently approached the woman saying he was a police officer involved in an investigation on foreign tenants residing in her house. He intimidated her by claiming the foreigners were suspects of terrorism and the woman faced immediate prosecution for being an accessory.
The Anti-Corruption Commission says that the sergeant successfully convinced the unsuspecting woman to pay a 10,000 birr bribe to drop all charges against her. Unfortunately for the Sergeant, the EACC had been informed about the scam.
And after a secret investigation, the EACC managed to arrest the man while he was taking the bribe. They also apprehended an individual who had collaborated with the corrupt sergeant to intimidate the victim into paying the bribe.
The Horn of Africa country’s Anti-Terrorism proclamation, approved by the Ethiopian parliament last year, requires Ethiopians to inform the authorities about anyone planning a terrorist act.
“Whoever has information or evidence that might lead to the prevention of a terrorist act, or to the arrest, prosecution or punishment of a suspect of terrorism and fails to immediately inform the police without a reasonable cause, or gives false information, is punishable with rigorous jail sentence of three to ten years,” Article 12 of the proclamation states.
