The Federal High Court has lifted a ban preventing the founder and shareholders of Holland Car Plc, Tadesse Tessema from talking to the media regarding the under liquidation firm.
The court stated that the ban, instituted about four years ago, goes against the constitution article 29(2).
That article says: ‘everyone has the right to freedom of expression without any interference. This right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any media of their choice.’
Tadesse had been prevented from issuing any statement by the Federal First Instance Court since September 2015. The Court had appointed a trustee for Holland who said it would hinder the liquidation process if Tadesse was allowed to give statements to the media.
However, in his appeal to the High Court last October, Tadesse, a Holland Diaspora and pioneer in Ethiopian car assembly, stated that the liquidation process is in the final stages and only disbursing the money to stakeholders remains to be done.
After Tadesse filed suit, asking the High Court to lift the ban, the Court responded by ruling that the trustee failed to show how Tadesse would create a problem with the final money disbursement process and that his constitutional rights were being violated.
Recently the Cassation Bench of Federal Supreme Court suspended Holland Car Plc from settling any payments other than taxes due to the claim of breaching the legal process given by the 5th Civil Bench of the Federal Higher Court at Lideta. The founder claimed that the company was sold for 42 million birr, while the court initially ruled the company should be sold for not less than 50 million birr.