Ethiopian Nile dam manager found shot dead

ADDIS ABABA: The project manager of a $4 billion (R52.8bn) Ethiopian dam was found shot dead in his car yesterday, police said.

“We have confirmed that engineer Simegnew Bekele was shot dead,” Zeinu Jemal, head of Ethiopia’s federal police commission, said.

“He had a bullet wound behind his right ear,” Zeinu said, adding that a Colt pistol was found inside the car.

Asked if the gun belonged to the victim, he said, “that has not been confirmed”.

Bekele managed the Grand Renaissance Dam that is being built along the Nile River.

Talks with Egypt, whose main source of water is the Nile, and Sudan on disagreements over its impact on the river have been deadlocked for years.

A bone of contention for Ethiopia and Egypt is the speed at which the dam’s reservoir would be filled, with Cairo fearing the river’s flow will be significantly reduced.

Zeinu said police had gathered forensic evidence and were talking to witnesses.

Yesterday, a Reuters photographer observed blood stains along an arm rest inside his car – a Toyota Land Cruiser before an ambulance took away the corpse.

State media reported the death, without disclosing the cause.

Now about half complete, the dam will churn out 6 000MW of electricity on completion.

It is the centrepiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter.

The country plans to spend some $12bn on harnessing its rivers for hydropower in the next two decades.

Under a new 2015-2020 development plan, Addis Ababa wants to raise power generation to 17 346MW from a current capacity of just over 4 300MW from hydropower, wind and geothermal sources.

Last month, the leaders of Ethiopia and Egypt vowed to iron out their differences peacefully.

They also agreed to take steps to put into effect an agreement, which includes Sudan, to set up a fund for investing in infrastructure in the three countries. – Reuters