Mojo (, ) is a town in central

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, named after the nearby Modjo River. Located in the East Shewa Zone of the

Oromia Region Oromia (, ) is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. Under Article 49 of 1995 Constitution of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Constitution, the capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa, also called Finfinne. The ...

, it has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation between 1788 and 1825 meters above sea level. It is the administrative center of Lome district.

Overview

Mojo is not only accessible by road (a road connecting the town to

Adama Adama ( Oromo: ', Amharic: አዳማ), formerly Nazreth (), is one of the cities of Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Located in the East Shewa Zone southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the city sits between the base of an escarpment to the west, ...

was built before the Italian conquest) but has been the location of a

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

of the Addis Ababa - Djibouti Railway since the line was extended from

Dire Dawa Dire Dawa (; , meaning"where the Dir (clan), Dir hit his spear into the ground" or "The true Dir", , Harari language, Harari: ድሬዳዋ, lit. "Plain of Medicine"; ) is a city in eastern Ethiopia near the Somali Region and Oromia, Oromo borde ...

Akaki Akaki ( Oromo: ''Aqaaqii'') is a woreda or district in Oromia Region, Ethiopia. Part of the Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfinne, Akaki is bordered on the southwest by the Southwest Shewa Zone, on the west by Sebeta Hawas, on the northwes ...

in 1915. With the railroad, Mojo also gained telegraph (later telephone) service and a restaurant to serve travelers. Modjo now has a

dry port A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. In addition to their role i ...

Population

Based on figures from the

Central Statistical Agency The Central Statistical Agency, also known as the Ethiopian Statistical Service (ESS; Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ስታቲስቲክስ አገልግሎት), is an Ethiopian government agency designated to provide all surveys and censuses for that ...

in 2005, Mojo had an estimated total population of 39,316 of which 20,038 were females. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 21,997 of whom 10,455 were males and 11,542 were females.

History

The earliest mention of Mojo is in the ''Futuh al-Habasha'', which mentions that

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi burned a village named "Masin" and a church belonging to the Emperor prior to the

Battle of Shimbra Kure The Battle of Shimbra Kure was fought on 9 March 1529 between the forces of Adal led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, and the Abyssinian army, under Dawit II (Lebna Dengel). It was the first major battle of the Ethiopian–Adal War. Ar ...

; at the time, Mojo was part of the former province of

Fatagar A medieval map of Fatagar and surrounding areas Fatagar (Amharic: ፈጠጋር) was a historical province that separated Muslim and Christian dominions in the medieval Horn of Africa. In the eleventh century it was part of the Muslim states, then ...

. In June 1965, construction of the Ethio-Japanese Synthetic Textiles Mill began, with a budget of 15 million Birr. The Textiles Co. behind it was 49% Japanese and 51% Ethiopian owned, with a capital of 2.5 million Birr. The company formally introduced its products to the market at the beginning of August 1966; the factory went into 24-hour operation in December 1966 and had 152 looms. On 30 October 1996, an

Ethiopian Air Force The Ethiopian Air Force (ETAF) () is the air service branch of the Ethiopian National Defence Force. The ETAF is tasked with protecting the national air space, providing support to ground forces, as well as assisting civil operations during wa ...

aircraft crashed into the marketplace, killing 8 people and injuring 94. About 50 residential and commercial buildings were destroyed by fire."Local History in Ethiopia"
(pdf) The Nordic Africa Institute website (accessed 26 November 2007)

References

{{reflist Populated places in the Oromia Cities and towns in Ethiopia