Ethiopian Defence minister suspended over fraud allegation

Ethiopian defence minister, Lemma Megerssa and two other top officials have been temporarily suspended from the ruling prosperity party’s central committee.

Mr Lemma was once a close ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and a key figure in the country’s political and economic reform over the past few years.

Prior to being appointed as a defence minister, he was the head of the country’s most populous state, Oromia.

Mr Lemma publicly criticized the prime minister’s efforts to reorganise and rebrand the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Party.