Afewerki’s personal driver, bodyguard reportedly defect to Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 30, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — Reliable sources have said that the official driver of the shabiyyah Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki has defected to Ethiopia, Meneik — an independent daily newspaper — reported today in the Ethiopian capital.

It is not yet clear how Isayas Afewerki’s driver came to Ethiopia, but it is suspected that he might have been one of those who recently gate-crashed into UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea- patrolled temporary Security Zone, or else he could have come to Ethiopia through the Sudanese border.

In a similar development, the driver of the shabiyyah Eritrean military chief, Gebregziabiher Muse, has also defected to Ethiopia. The driver drove his vehicle to Sudan and then crossed the Sudanese border to Ethiopia.

Observers say the number of Eritrean defectors to Ethiopia has increased in the recent past.

It is said that the personal driver of Isayas Afewerki knows a lot of secrets.
Sources close to the issue say this is a damning and explosive experience to Isayas Afewerki.

The driver is said to have been Isayas Afewerki’s closest bodyguard as well as driver since the early years of the struggle and later used to travel on foreign trips with President Isayas.

It is said that the defection of the driver is a clear manifestation of the deterioration of Isayas Afewerki’s popularity among Eritrean citizens.