Mendi, Oromia

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Mendi, sometimes written Mandi, is a town in western Ethiopia. It is in the Oromia Region, West Welega Zone, about 1,821 meters above sea level. It sits near 9.6°N, 35.6°E. In 2005 the town had about 18,020 people (9,199 men and 8,821 women); in 1994 there were 10,070 people (4,989 men and 5,081 women).

History: Tahir Shah, in his book In Search of King Solomon's Mines, described Mendi in the late 20th century as having a muddy main street and shops with corrugated iron roofs. A church was built in 1893 by Dejazmach. In 1907, after Dejazmach regained tax rights, the central government kept Nekemte’s customs in control and kept the gate of Mendi for Nekemte’s customs, showing central fiscal authority.

By the 1930s, Mendi had become an important coffee market. A Swedish mission came to town, but in 1938 it was expelled during Italian interference and did not resume until 1946. In January 1954 Mendi hosted a conference of Ethiopian Evangelical Churches. The next year, Muslim missionaries from Sudan arrived in the area and are said to have converted about 1,000 people nearby. Since the 2005 Ethiopian election, there are reports that a small, semi-permanent presence of the Oromo Liberation Front has operated in the Mendi area.