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Prominent Minnesota businessman Tashtar Tufaa is said to have been detained by Ethiopian authorities, according to his brother Gebi Tufaa and members of the Ethiopian community in Minnesota. The circumstances of why and when he was detained remain unclear.
According to social media posts, Tufaa was arrested at Bole International Airport on his way back to the United States after visiting his native Ethiopia to attend his aunt’s funeral.
Tufaa is the founder and CEO of Metropolitan Transportation Network, a school bus company with over $12 million in revenue. He has won numerous awards, including the African Award for Business of the Year.
According to Tulu Sikko Mando, in his Facebook post, he was “a member of the US-based National Committee that welcomed and hosted Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Ethiopian Diaspora Tour in the United States in July 2018.” , claiming that Tufaa was “detained at his home.” Probably for no other reason than his ethnic Oromo identity, simply the country of birth. ”
His reported detention comes after a civil war that has engulfed the federal government and the Tigray region has rocked the country since November 2020. The Ethiopian government and representatives of the Tigray region signed a peace deal in South Africa on November 2, the eve of his second anniversary of the conflict. Earlier this month, the two sides met in Nairobi and agreed to allow a team of independent African experts to monitor the implementation of the peace deal.
Mando said attempts by Tufaa’s family and lawyers to contact him were unsuccessful and his whereabouts are unknown.
The community asked the US Embassy in Addis Ababa to intervene.
Tashitaa Tufaa’s younger brother, Gebi Tufaa, told Mshale that his family is very concerned for his brother’s well-being and asked Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to help him get out. I appealed.
“I don’t know what condition he is in, so I am very grateful for their help,” Gebi Tufaa said.
A young Tufaa, former CFO of MTN and now a human resources manager for the City of St. Paul, both were recently in Ethiopia to visit an ailing aunt before she died, but her brother was away and returned home. said he did. Take her to her doctor’s appointment.
Tufaa said his brother made a short phone call to his family in Ethiopia from where he was being held, and within a minute he simply said, “I’m fine.”
“My brother is not involved in any kind of politics, so this is very surprising and came out of nowhere.
Editor’s Note: Story updated to include comments from Tashitaa Tufaa’s brother. This is a developing story and will be updated.
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About Tom Guitar
Born and raised in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, Tom is the founder, president and publisher of Mshale. As founder, he did a lot of reporting during the newspaper’s humble beginnings, and although he still does the occasional report, now the news he’s focused on the publishing side of the operation. Tom was also the first host of He Talking Drum, the African Broadcasting Network’s (ABN-America) flagship current affairs show, which was available in the United States via the Dishnetwork satellite service. At the show, he celebrated Nobel Laureates such as his 2004 Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai, the first woman from Africa to receive the Peace Prize, and nations such as Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh at the Banjul State Capitol. I interviewed the head of state. Tom has served and chaired various boards, including Global Minnesota (formerly the Minnesota International Center), the sixth largest council on global affairs in the United States. He previously served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Books for Africa, the largest shipper of books donated to Africa. He also serves on the boards of the New Vision Foundation and He Minnesota Multicultural Media Consortium. Tom also served two terms on the Board of the United Nations Association. After turning 50, he retired from full marathons and now concentrates only on half marathons.
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