Addis Abeba — Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped 20 workers of Dangote Cement Factory, located in Adea Berga district in West Shewa Zone of Oromia region, a staff member of the company with the knowledge to the matter told Addis Standard.

According to the employee who spoke to Addis Standard on the phone on conditions of anonymity, the abduction happened on Thursday 26 January at around 4:30 PM local time while the workers were on duty to renovate a broken water pump station where the company obtains water for its production. The station is located some 25 km away from Muger town, a town where the manufacturing plant is located at.

According to the witness, the gunmen kidnapped all workers at the duty station except one staff who passed out during the abduction, and two security personnel. The company has not yet traced both the identity and the whereabouts of the kidnappers. The company has not yet released official statement on the kidnapping.

This is the second kidnapping in as many weeks. In December last year gunmen kidnapped 30 employees of the company who were traveling on a company bus in the same vicinity. The gunmen released the victims after the company had paid a ransom of between 100,000 to 200,000 birr for each victim, according to the witness.

In 2018, Dangote Cement factory country representative Deep Kamara, and two Ethiopian employees were killed by the gunmen in the same locality. Following the tragic killing , the Ethiopian federal government and Oromia regional government promised to take all necessary steps to prevent such incidents in the future, adding that they were investigating to apprehend perpetrators of the crime. But no one has been held accountable for the killing. AS