Akaki (woreda): History
A local landmark is Oda Nabi, which is where the Machaa and Tulama groups held their chefe assemblies together before the Macha crossed the Guder River during the Robale Gadaa (1570–1578) and Oda Nabi became too far for them to travel every eighth year.
Located in Akaki woreda is the Aba Samuel hydroelectric power plant, named after a nearby church. The complex includes the first dam built in the Awash valley, though it is actually on the Akaki river, constructed by the Italians in 1939, and the lake created by the dam has a storage capacity of 40,000 cubic meters. Originally a 6,600 kW hydro-electric plant, it was enlarged in the early 1950s so that it produced 20 million kWh a year by 1955. In the early 1940s, the British attempted to carry away vital parts of the electrical generator, but were stopped after a few minute's battle with the police of Addis Ababa.