Mengistu moves out of Harare:

HARARE, Zimbabwe –
Former Ethiopia’s ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam has abandoned his Harare home and is now living in Kariba, near the Zambian border, a report said Saturday.

Mengistu, who was found guilty of genocide following a trial in absentia in his homeland, left Harare sometime in July and has not set foot at his Harare home, according to a report, published by the newzimbabwe website.

He is living at a private residence in Kariba, said the report, adding that once in a while he visited Harare as he acquired a stake in a local wholesale company.

It was not clear whether the man who once ruled Ethiopia with an iron fist had decided to live in Kariba permanently.

Mengistu, who has lived in exile in Zimbabwe since he was ousted in 1991, was convicted on Tuesday in a 12-year trial that focused on the killings of thousands of political opponents during his military government’s 17-year rule.

Little is known about his life in Harare. On the rare occasions when Mengistu has been seen in public, he has been seen wearing military boots and carrying a pistol.

Security for Mengistu was increased in the mid-1990s after a failed assassination attempt by two Eritreans who ambushed him during a stroll.