Ethio Telecom Says Takele Uma Has Not Been Appointed; Tariku Demissie Is Acting CEO

Ethio Telecom has denied that Takele Uma has been appointed its chief executive, telling Tikvah Ethiopia that the claim circulating on social media is false. The state operator said its former chief technology officer, Tariku Demissie, is leading the company as acting chief executive.

What the company actually said

The claim that spread over the weekend had Takele Uma — a former mayor of Addis Abeba and chief executive of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway — taking over from Frehiwot Tamiru. Ethio Telecom's response to Tikvah was unambiguous: the information is false. Leadership inside the company confirmed Tariku Demissie is in post and discharging the duties of the office.

Addis Fortune reported the same appointment separately, describing Tariku Demissie as the operator's former chief technology officer and the appointment as filling a seat that had been vacant for two weeks.

Why the seat was open

Frehiwot Tamiru left the company when she joined Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's cabinet as Minister of Innovation & Technology, part of the 22-minister cabinet Parliament approved earlier this month. She had run Ethio Telecom through the period in which it listed shares domestically, launched telebirr and faced its first licensed competitor.

For anyone selling to, buying from or competing with Ethio Telecom, the distinction between a substantive appointment and an acting one is the whole story. An acting chief executive typically holds the line on existing commitments rather than reopening them. The operator is currently in the market for power solutions across its network sites and continues to expand telebirr — both programmes a permanent appointment could redirect.

Open

Ethio Telecom has not said how long Tariku Demissie will serve in an acting capacity, nor whether a substantive appointment process is under way. Takele Uma has not commented publicly on the reports naming him. Neither the company nor the Ministry of Innovation & Technology has published a formal statement on the succession beyond the responses given to Tikvah Ethiopia and Addis Fortune.

Sources: Tikvah Ethiopia, 20 October 2026 · Addis Fortune, 20 October 2026