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Armed kidnappers have taken 20 workers from the Dangote Cement Factory in Adea Berga district, according to a source within the company who spoke to Addis Standard. The abduction took place on Thursday, January 26th at around 4:30 PM local time, while the workers were repairing a broken water pump station for the factory, located about 25 km from the manufacturing plant in Muger town.
All workers were kidnapped except for one who lost consciousness and two security personnel. The company is still searching for the kidnappers and their motives, as they have not yet released an official statement on the matter.
This is the second kidnapping in recent weeks, with 30 employees being taken in December of last year. In that instance, the kidnappers were reportedly paid a ransom ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 birr for each victim before releasing them.
In 2018, the country representative for the Dangote Cement factory, Deep Kamara, and two Ethiopian employees were killed by armed attackers in the same area. Despite promises from the Ethiopian federal government and Oromia regional government to take preventative measures and hold the perpetrators accountable, no one has yet been held responsible for the killings.
Dangote Cement is a subsidiary of the Dangote Group, a Nigerian multinational corporation founded by Aliko Dangote, one of the richest men in Africa. The company is the largest producer of cement in Africa and has operations in several African countries including Nigeria, Ethiopia, Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana, and Zambia. In Ethiopia, the company operates a large cement manufacturing plant in Muger town, Adea Berga district in West Shewa Zone of Oromia region. Despite being a major player in the African cement industry, the company has faced a number of security challenges in Ethiopia, including kidnappings and killings of employees.
