The legal battle between BGI Ethiopia, a leading brewery, and Zewdnesh G. Asrat has centred on a debate whether the case should be treated as a property rights or a contractual dispute.
In the opening hearing of the high-profile case which took place on December 10, before Federal First Instance Court Judge Girawork Yitbarek, Zewdnesh’s team argued that the case is about ownership rights over her alleged 27pc stake in BGI Ethiopia which is worth 8.28 million Br, framing it as a proprietorship claim under property law. Since property claims are not bound by strict time limits, the plaintiff argued that the issue is who owns the shares and whether her ownership rights were violated, not whether a contract was violated.
Zewdnesh legal team from Ethio-Alliance Advocates LLP, including Yehualashet Tamiru, Kaleegziabher Gossaye, Ketema Adane, and Yigremachew Kefelegn claimed that her alleged shares were transferred without her knowledge and consent.
On the other hand, BGI Ethiopia’s legal team contended that the dispute is contractual and the share transfer which was decided in a special meeting of shareholders was legal and transparent. BGI says the plaintiff consented to the share transfer by her signature on the meeting’s minute.
BGI's defense, led by Million Assefa and Solomon Emeru, argued that since contract law imposes a two-year statute of limitations, Zewdnesh’s case should be dismissed for exceeding the legal time frame.
The plaintiff countered arguing presenting meeting minutes as evidence of contractual agreements is not admissible as they are simply administrative records.
The dispute originates from Brasseries International Holding Limited’s (BIH) acquisition of all shares in BGI Ethiopia Plc in February 1999. In May 2024, Zewdnesh started a legal action against BGI Ethiopia; Jean P. Blavier, BGI’s then manager; BIH; and Hebu Properties Limited, claiming her shares were transferred unlawfully using fraudulent documents.
The plaintiff claimed Hebu Properties Limited received a total of 6,067 of her shares in BGI Ethiopia through a fraudulent transfer. Hebu was represented by Mieraf Gezai, who was also a general manager of one of Zewdnesh’s companies that was contracted to distribute BGI Ethiopia’s products. She claims no payment was made to her for the transfer of her shares to either Hebu or BIH.
Her team contended that she learned of the wrongdoing after she heard of a proposed property sale related to BGI and Purpose Black a year ago.
BGI claims that the plaintiff was aware of the share transfer 23 years ago. The defendant says that even if her knowledge of the proposed property sale dates back to the initiations of the Purpose Black and BGI deal in 2022, the claim would still be time-barred.
Zewdnesh argued that the relevant date for legal purposes is when she discovered the alleged wrongdoing, which she claimed was approximately a year ago. Last year, BGI planned to close its plant in Addis Abeba and negotiated with Purpose Black to sell the site which later failed. Subsequently, BGI announced its intention to sell the site to other buyers.
The plaintiff secured an injunction from First Instance Court on the sale of the same 30,000sqm property owned by BGI Ethiopia near Mexico roundabout. The injunction prevented both the sale of BGI’s headquarters and the transfer of BGI shares held by Brasseries International Holding Limited (BIH).
Zewdnesh claims her involvement was crucial when BIH, representing French interests through the Castel Group, successfully bid 10 million dollars to acquire St. George Brewery from the government in 1998.
She alleges she became a victim of a power struggle within the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in 2001. She claimed to have been subjected to intense political pressure because the then-board chairman of the Privatization Agency, Asefa Abreha, was under investigation for corruption.
The plaintiff stated that investigations into brothers Asefa and Siye Abraha, also targeted Zewdnesh's daughter due to her daughter's perceived close ties to Siye’s family. Zewdnesh believes this intimidation created the conditions that allowed the fraudulent transfer of her BGI Ethiopia shares to occur.
The defence team of BGI argued that any political pressure her daughter faced are irrelevant to the plaintiff's situation and should not be considered by the court.
In the continuing battle, Zewdnesh's legal team requested the appearance of around 15 witnesses, including prominent figures such as Siye Abreha and Girma Waqe. Conversely, BGI's defence planned to call Hagos Debesu, Mieraf Gezai, Tilahun Teshome, and Zenebech Shiferaw to provide testimony before the federal court judge.
PUBLISHED ON
Jan 03,2025 [ VOL
25 , NO
1288]
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