June 26, 2007

Senior Ethiopian Government Official in Coma After Car Accident

Addis Fortune

26 June 2007

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -
Senior Ethiopian government official, Siraj Fegessa, minister of Federal Affairs, suffered a stunning car accident in Saudi Arabia last week.

The accident occurred on Thursday, June 14, 2007, as he was travelling from Jida to a city called At Ta'if. Until the time Fortune went to press, the Minister was in a comma, sustaining a serious injury while one passenger in the car died, according to sources close to the situation.

Siraj, who went to the United States (US) to lobby for Ethiopians in the Diaspora to return home during the Millennium and to encourage those from the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples Regional State (SNNPRS) living abroad to invest in their native country.

The official went to Saudi after a brief stay in the US. After he held talks with Ethiopians living in Jida, his car crashed, driven by an Ethiopian Embassy employee.

His wife and the Silte Zone Administrator, where Siraj was born, went to Saudi on June 18, 2007, immediately after they heard about the tragedy.

(Compiled By Issayas Mekuria, Fortune Staff Writer)

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