Ethiopia: African leaders in Ethiopia land grab

Several African leaders have bought lands in Ethiopia to develop agricultural projects or tourism resorts. They are let to bypass a 2007 ban on export of cereals, still in place for other investors. It has earlier been known that former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasansjo and current Djiboutian President Ismael Omar Guelleh privately have bought up large properties in Ethiopia. Also the Egyptian Prime Minister managed to buy large agricultural land tracts in Ethiopia on behalf of his government. However, a US Embassy cable from February last year, released by Wikileaks, indicates that several of these underreported deals operate in the grey zone of Ethiopian legislation.