Ethiopian Telecommunications Trailblazer on Trial

A high-stakes criminal tax case has resulted in the incarceration of an Ethiopian-American tech CEO behind one of the first private internet service provider licenses in the country. Dawit Birhanu, CEO and co-founder of WebSprix IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd has been imprisoned for the past five months after a rejection of his bail plea and subsequent maintenance of the ruling by a series of courts. Websprix, a company with significant shares owned by Ethiopian diaspora, has provided a range of internet and technology services in Ethiopia for the past fourteen years, employing over 400 people. 

On December 26, 2024, the Ministry of Justice Economic Crime Affairs Directorate General lodged a case at the Federal High Court Lideta Criminal Bench against WebSprix and three of its senior executives: Dawit Birhanu, a former Cisco employee who moved back to Ethiopia in 2011 to co-found the company; Abraham Menwielet, Vice President and Co-founder; and Mekdes Aklilu Temesgen, Board Chairman. The trio were charged with allegedly facilitating contraband, tax evasion, and presenting money obtained through criminal activity as legitimately gained.  

The charges against WebSprix and its executives were filed just a few weeks after the Company received an Internet Service Provider (ISP) license from the Ethiopian Communication Authority (ECA) with a capital of 100.8 million Birr. This made the company one of only three entities, alongside Ethio telecom and Safaricom Ethiopia, authorized to build and operate telecom infrastructure.  

Since its establishment, in 2011, WebSprix has introduced a new model of internet service within Ethiopia’s private sector, becoming a key player in the country’s digital connectivity infrastructure. The company was among the first to deliver fiber connectivity to condominium housing in Addis Ababa through underground cable deployment.  

To date, WebSprix has deployed over 3,200 kilometers of fiber and extended fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service to 420,000 Ethiopian households, with plans to reach 1.2 million by 2026 and up to 7 million by 2030, according to its internal memos. The company relies on U.S.-based technologies such as Cisco, distinctly marking it from a local telecom infrastructure that predominantly relies on Chinese suppliers like Huawei. 

Websprix has also managed to secure international backing, $250,000 Microsoft Airband Award and a 500,000 USAID Digital Invest 2025 Award to develop internet gateways to Djibouti and Kenya and expand broadband access to 5 million people. 

In the nine-page indictment, a Federal Prosecutor accused the defendants of engaging in a series of financial crimes spanning 2017-2023 on eight counts. The accused allegedly evaded paying profit taxes of 51.8 million Birr, 17.9 million Birr in Value Added Taxes, contraband related to foreign software purchases resulting in 5.5 million Birr unpaid customs duties, and presentation of about 6 million Birr income sourced from these operations as legitimate.  

With its top executives under criminal indictment, WebSprix’s corporate accounts have been frozen, though day-to-day activities proceed at a limited pace. While  Mekdes has been granted bail and Abraham’s case is proceeding in absentia, Dawit has remained imprisoned at the Aba Samuel Prison in Kaliti District for the past five months. Judges presiding over the case have rejected bail, prompting Dawit’s defense team to unsuccessfully appeal all the way up to the Federal Supreme Court Cassation Bench.  

The charges against the Company and its executives have their roots in an investigative audit conducted by the Ministry of Revenues. Websprix challenged the findings of the audit in October through a formal appeal to the tax complaint review office. Central to their objections include the absence of a customs duty on software licenses until 2020, inconsistency with a prior audit by the Revenues Ministry and the lack of evidence to justify tax evasion conclusion. 

In their seven-point objection to the criminal charges, the defense team argued that final decisions on the investigative audit had yet to be completed, as appeals could go as far as the Cassation bench. Furthermore, they objected to the contraband charges, citing how software is characterized as “incorporeal chattel,” which is treated differently in Ethiopia’s customs law. They also questioned how the claim of presenting illegally obtained income as legal earnings could be made when the underlying presupposition had not been established. The lawyers argued that the charges stemmed from abuse of prosecutorial power, lacked legal merit, and substance. 

However, on May 15, 2025, the Lideta High Court dismissed the objections and scheduled a hearing to begin listening to witness testimonies a week later. 

Meanwhile, Dawit’s former colleagues at Cisco have begun an online petition on change.org calling for his release on bail and the unfreezing of Websprix assets. The petition has collected 382 verified signatures at the time of writing. 

“Dawit's detainment is an attack on private industry in the developing world and, if successful, would have a chilling effect on foreign investment and the continued development of Ethiopia,” reads the petition. 

The US Embassy’s Citizen Services Unit is also closely following up on developments of the case.