Court Sentences Couple for Abducting Child and Demanding 5 Million Birr

July 25, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

The Federal High Court has sentenced a couple to lengthy prison terms after finding them guilty of abducting a four-year-old child and demanding a 5 million birr ransom from his family. The court’s First Criminal Bench sentenced Metadel Tadesse to eight years and four months in prison, while her husband, Meseret Ayele, received a seven-year and nine-month prison sentence, according to the investigation file.

The incident occurred on August 18, 2025, in Akaki Kaliti Sub-City, Woreda 6, Zone Four area, according to Addis Ababa Police. Police said Metadel Tadesse had been employed as a domestic worker at the child’s family home just 10 days before the kidnapping. She was hired on a monthly salary of 4,000 birr by the child’s parents, Melkamu Redaete and Tigab Getahun.

According to the police investigation, Tadesse took advantage of the parents’ absence when they went to work and left the house with their four-year-old son, Yosef Melkamu, telling him she would buy him snacks. When the parents returned home, they found both their child and the newly hired domestic worker missing. Shortly afterwards, Meseret Ayele, Tadesse’s husband, called the child’s father and demanded 5 million birr, claiming that they had abducted his son.

The parents reported the case to the Addis Ababa Police Commission, which launched an investigation involving its investigation department and operations team. Police later traced the suspects to Chacha, in Debre Birhan, North Shewa Zone, where they had taken the child. With assistance from Debre Birhan city police, officers