A federal court delivered a sharp rebuke last week to a long-running fight over shares in one of Ethiopia’s largest brewers, dismissing an ownership claim by a former shareholder as time-barred and ordering her to pay the company’s legal fees.

The legal battle between Zewdinesh G. Asrat, who asserted that she once held a 27pc stake in BGI Ethiopia Plc, bottlers of St George Brewery, only to have her shares "quietly transferred" during complex political events in the late 1990s. Zewdinesh’s lawyers produced a forensic report dated April 21, 2025, identifying what they called “significant handwriting differences” in a 2001 signature purportedly from their client.

In her suit, filed in May 2024, Zewdinesh demanded reinstatement of her shares, valued at roughly 8.28 million Br, and compensation for unpaid dividends and damages. She named not only BGI but also Castel Group’s affiliate, Brasseries International Holding (BIH), former CEO JeanPaul Blavier and Hebu Properties, the company she alleged received her shares. She detailed how BIH’s 1998 acquisition of St. George Brewery for 10 million dollars, through privatisation, left her with a legally recognised share, only for those holdings to vanish during boardroom reshuffles.

BGI’s legal team, led by Million Assefa and joined by counsel Solomon Emeru, countered that any challenge to her ownership was now barred by the Civil Code’s tight time limits on contractual disputes. They argued that even transfers of “unmovable assets,” such as land or property, yield to prescriptive periods once a set number of years has passed.

The Federal First Instance Court agreed. Presided by Judge Gerawork Yitbarek, the Court found that any grievance rooted in events more than two decades past should yield to the strict statute of limitations under the law.

However, in court filings, Zewdinesh’s counsel at EthioAlliance Advocates LLP insisted that share certificates represent property interests that cannot be nullified by inaction. They framed the case as an ongoing violation of her rights, rather than a breach of contract, and pointed to health issues, partial paralysis and vision loss, that they claim prevented her from acting sooner.

They argued that because the dispute involved property rights, strict time limits should not apply. Zewdinesh also alleged that Hebu Properties Ltd unlawfully acquired over 6,000 of her shares through "fraudulent means" without her consent or compensation. Hebu was represented by Mieraf Gezai, who previously worked at Zewdinesh’s distribution company.

They also alleged political pressures, including investigations into former federal government officials like Assefa Abreha, then chairman of the Privatisation Agency, created an atmosphere of intimidation.

The Court, however, found no sufficient evidence to support claims of political coercion or medical incapacity during the relevant perio

The forensic report, introduced in spring 2025, added fresh drama. On April 21, experts concluded that the signature on a key 2001 transfer document bore signs of forgery. Yet, Judge Gerawork declared that, regardless of its merits, the report came too late to revive a claim tethered to events in 1998 and 1999. He dismissed the suit and ordered Zewdinesh to pay 30,000 Br toward the BGI's court costs.