The High Court of West Shewa Zone in Oromia Region has sentenced a man to prison for posing as a disabled aid recipient from Adara to solicit money. The accused, Mika'as Niguse, received nine years of rigorous imprisonment and a 1,000 Birr fine. The child used in the scheme was returned to his family.
The Special Bench for Special Criminal Cases at the West Shewa Zone Criminal Law Office in Oromia Region charged Mika'as Niguse under Articles 3 and 4 of Proclamation No. 1178/2012 for fraudulently committing a crime. According to the charge sheet, the accused, who is from the Amhara Region's Aw ethnic group, pretended that a four-year-old boy, his brother's child receiving aid from Adara due to disability, was a street beggar with physical impairment. This occurred on Tikimt 4, 2018 EC, around 7 a.m., in the Burqa Harbu area of Holeta town, where he pushed the child in a wheelchair and begged for money.
Local residents reported the incident to the police, leading to an investigation that confirmed the child was healthy. The court, after reviewing the submitted evidence, acquitted him of the crime's consummation but convicted him on the charge. When asked to provide supporting evidence during the hearing, the accused stated, “I have no supporting evidence of any kind,” resulting in a guilty verdict for fraud. Consequently, the court sentenced him to nine years of rigorous imprisonment and a 1,000 Birr fine. The child was returned to his family.