An abrupt legal dispute has thrust the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations (AACCSA) into the limelight, ending its general assembly two days before it was set to convene.

A Federal First Instance Court judge issued an injunction on January 8, 2025, leaving board members and thousands of business owners in limbo as the metropolitan Chamber’s leadership gripped by allegations of "unlawful dismissal and manipulation of internal processes." The plaintiff, board member Abera A. Eshete, challenged the Chamber's leadership and its President, Mesenbet Shenkute. He contends that his removal from the board was "illegal" and motivated by personal feud, an accusation the Chamber’s leadership rejects.

A contentious proposal to overhaul the Chamber’s constitution lies at the crux of the dispute. Under Mesenbet’s restructuring plan, membership in the Addis Chamber would become mandatory for the city’s 480,000 licensed businesses. It is a departure from a long-standing voluntary system, and one that Abera claims violates the Chamber’s governing principles. He claims that the move would erode the institution’s legitimacy by effectively coercing businesses into joining.



Mesenbet, who served on the board before rising to the presidency, insisted that the plan is necessary to strengthen the Chamber’s financial and institutional capacity, pointing to what she described is chronic problems in serving the needs of the city's private sector.


Disagreements over the proposal led to a heated discussion at last month's board meeting. Abera alleged that his outspoken opposition spurred the board of directors, led by Mesenbet, to dismiss him to sideline dissent and expedite changes in the bylaws. His legal team, headed by advisor Sintayehu Zeleke, has summoned five witnesses to testify about what they characterised as procedural lapses and personal bias within the Chamber. They pleaded that these alleged governance failures might extend to broader efforts to manipulate the upcoming election by excluding dissenting voices and undermining the voluntary character founded by the Chamber.

Established in 1947 and restructured in 2003, the Addis Chamber holds an important place in the private sector, representing 17,000 members. Its mission, historically, has been to facilitate policy advocacy, promote business development, and provide crucial services like the Institute of Directors and a business incubation centre. However, the recent upheaval has exposed a deep rift between those who favour a strong, centralised Chamber, able to draw on obligatory membership fees and regulatory backing, and those who believe such power runs contrary to the founding ideals.




While the Chamber has reported notable successes under Mesenbet’s leadership, such as a 12.5pc increase in revenue for the 2022/23 fiscal year, bringing total earnings to 81 million Br, its overall financial status is mixed. Total assets fell by 13 million Br in the same period, slipping to 140.4 million Br, a trend that some board members attribute to weak oversight.

Mesenbet has argued that these figures illustrate the need for the Chamber to expand its resource base. She has framed the proposed reforms as part of a broader transformation, arguing that mandatory membership is the only viable way to effectively boost the organisation’s capacity to serve the private sector. In a recent press conference, she spoke of a “long-standing manifestation of problems” within the Chamber that her restructuring would remedy.


Abera, who has also serves on the board of Zemen Bank and is a major shareholder of A.Y. NOBLE Inspection & Servilance Service, believes the Chamber’s push for mandatory membership masks a desire to consolidate power. He described the restructuring as a “power grab,” claiming it undermines the voluntary character that has defined the institution for decades. According to Abera, the tension came to a head when he challenged Mesenbet’s plan during a board meeting, sparking an argument he says was later used as a pretext for his dismissal.

He claimed bypassing the credential screening and election committee and imposing decisions without due scrutiny is part of a broader pattern.

His lawsuit appealed for reinstatement to the board, the suspension of the other directors alleged to be complicit in his ouster, and a return to what he claims is the Chamber’s rightful governance practices.

The management team includes Vice President Fasikaw Sisay and nine other board directors - Kibret Kebede, Asfaw Alemu, Melaku Kebede, Alemaywhu Nigatu, Sarah Solomon, Abebr Gurnesa, Suleiman Fereja and Gizachew Tekalign. The plaintiff claims the witnesses, including board members and the Chamber’s arbitration director, will support claims that institutional norms have been disregarded.


Although Mesenbet, a 56-year-old business consultant who once was the CEO of the state-owned Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE), has countered that the restructuring is critical to modernising the Chamber, the dispute has temporarily ground the organisation to a halt. The injunction, signed by Judge Gerawork Yitbarek, has frozen its operations, effectively putting the scheduled 18th General Assembly on ice and any immediate decisions about the Chamber’s bylaws.

The Chamber and Mesenbet are expected to file responses in the coming weeks.



PUBLISHED ON Jan 12,2025 [ VOL 25 , NO 1289]


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