It is with great sadness and shock that we mourn the sudden passing of Dagnachew Yilma, a stalwart of Ethiopian free press.
Dagnachew was one of the pioneers of the Ethiopian free press since its nascent emergence in 1991. He introduced desktop publishing to several free press newspapers and magazines. He was also a founding member and publisher of Zena Admas, which he ran and managed along with veteran journalist Kifle Mulat.
At a time when the free press lacked resources and technical backup, Dagnachew established Piazza Computer Center that provided desktop publishing, layout editing, and pre-publication services to over 10 newspapers and magazines. He was also the founder and owner of Microlink Information Technology College, which has fostered and scaled computer science and software engineering education in Ethiopia. The college managed to produce thousands of skilled manpower in the Ethiopa. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who earned a BSc degree in computer engineering in 2009, was one of the prominent graduates of Microlink.
Dagnachew, who unexpectedly passed away on December 6, was forced into exile by the TPLF led regime and lived in the United States for many years. He had returned home to help with the running and upgrading efforts of Microlink.
We, the exiled members of the Ethiopian free press, would like to express our deepest condolences to Daghachew’s Yilma’s family and friends. A memorial service via Zoom is scheduled to be held on December 13 at 10:00 AM EST.
Forum of Exiled Members of the Ethiopian Free Press || Chair person – Dawit Kebede Weyessa
