Hailu Shawel's Sons Rekindle Bitter Feud Over Father's Assets

Jul 19 , 2025. By NAHOM AYELE ( FORTUNE STAFF WRITER )

A new lawsuit filed by Hailu Shawel’s, once a towering figure in both engineering and opposition politics, third son, has intensified a years-long inheritance dispute. Allegations of asset mismanagement, blurred corporate ownership, and intra-family feud already mark the case.

In January of this year, Nadew filed a civil suit at the Lideta Division of the Federal First Instance Court, seeking the reassignment of disputed shares, compensation for undercapitalised equity, and a comprehensive forensic audit of the family’s holdings. The Presiding Judge, Eleni Zewdu, ruled on July 2, 2025, to consolidate the petition with an earlier lawsuit brought in December 2024 by his twin brother, Samson, which is now under review at the Nifas Silk Lafto District Court.

At the crux of the brothers’ grievances is the ownership structure and financial stewardship of Samson Sports Plc, the corporate entity that controls the 10,000Sqm Laphto Mall. Constructed in 1997 near the affluent Besrate Gabriel area, on South Africa St., the mall has long served as a family flagship property.

However, behind its consumer-facing success lies an unresolved struggle with the combined value of contested properties and shares reportedly running into the hundreds of millions of Birr.

Both Samson and Nadew allege that personal and corporate finances have become entangled, distorting dividend rights and diminishing their inheritance.

In his filing, Nadew asserts a five percent equity claim in Samson Sports Plc and seeks compensation amounting to 27.7 million Br, citing undercapitalisation and unallocated earnings. His legal brief extends further, requesting recognition of additional shares and financial interests across a web of family-run ventures, including Shawel Consult International Plc, Rekik Food Plc, and Agrimecs Share Company.

Like his twin, he claims to have faced systematic marginalisation and financial opacity since the family initiated the inheritance registration process in 2017.

The late Hailu Shawel, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 80, led the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD) during Ethiopia’s fiercely contested national elections in 2005 and was chairman of the All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) until 2013.

Before his political ascendancy, he helmed key public institutions, including the State Farms Development Authority, under the military government, and founded Shawel Consult, a firm now managed by his eldest son, Shawel Hailu (PhD), a U.S.-educated economist and head of multiple family-linked companies.

Court records show the inheritance affidavit was initially filed in 2017 and later amended to incorporate the interests of another sibling, Pele Hailu, who died in 2018.

However, Samson argues that the redistribution process failed to reflect the real economic stakes involved. His initial complaint challenges the transfer of 2,743 shares in Samson Sports Plc to their elder brother, Shawel, which he contends was a temporary strategic move amid political volatility.

According to Samson, the shares, meant to shield the family’s assets, should have been reallocated once the risk had passed.

He has demanded recognition of 274 shares in his name and that of the late Pele, alongside a buyout provision to exit the firm, citing irreconcilable differences. The stakes extend to two high-value plots in Lafto, where the brothers each seek a 10pc share. Additional claims include nearly 865,000 Br each from dormant bank accounts held under their father’s name, 792 shares in the Bank of Abyssinia (BoA), 44 shares in Shawel Consult, and 53 shares in Agrimecs.

Samson’s affidavit implicates multiple family members, including their mother, Almaz Zewde, and siblings, Shawel, Anteneh, and Yamrot, in allegedly rebuffing settlement overtures and misappropriating company revenues. He also alleges that no dividend has been paid to the heirs since 2017, while he claims “rent and company funds have been siphoned off for personal use.”

He has sought an emergency release of 10 million Br to fund urgent medical treatment in Bangkok, Thailand, describing the need as “non-negotiable” and time-sensitive.

Nadew’s later claim reaffirms and expands on Samson’s accusations, requesting a comprehensive audit of the family’s commercial empire stretching back nearly a decade. Both brothers are represented by Yehualashet Tamiru, a partner at Ethio Alliance Advocates, who has summoned three witnesses: Bethlehem Ashenafi, Samson Hailu, and Firehiwot Mekonnen, to make their case.

PUBLISHED ON Jul 19,2025 [ VOL 26 , NO 1316]