Who's in charge here, anyway?
and a new deputy prime minister
Hi there,
You’re reading Sifter, a newsletter on the week’s top 5 stories on Ethiopia. I’m Maya Misikir, a freelance reporter based in Addis Abeba and I write it.
As we wrap up the month of January, I’m putting up a question to see how many of you would be interested in an audio version of this newsletter. A few of you have reached out to ask me if this is possible and I wanted to gauge if this is a more widely shared sentiment. Let me know what you think by taking a second and filling out this poll below.
Now, to the news.
Security: abductions, and new rules in Oromia
The Oromia region in Ethiopia has been in turmoil over the past few years, with ongoing fighting between the Ethiopian federal government troops and the region’s rebel group, the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).
If you recall, I wrote an update in October last year when Chinese employees from a cement factory were abducted for ransom in the region. In the same month, there were reported drone attacks that killed several people.
A story in The Guardian talks about how the motives for kidnappings have changed in the region. It features a woman, Alemetu, who was kidnapped for ransom because her husband took a government job.
Here’s an excerpt from the story:
“Kidnapping has been a persistent threat for years in Oromia, a region that runs through the heart of Ethiopia and surrounds the capital, Addis Ababa. Until recently kidnappings were rare outside OLA’s strongholds in western Oromia. When they did occur, they were targeted. The main victims were like Alemetu: police officers, government officials or their relatives, and the aims were generally political rather than financial.”
These kidnappings are now indiscriminate (residents, travelers on the road, researchers in the region), and the ransom asked ranges anywhere between 20,000 to half a million Birr according to people interviewed in the story.
Another story by Semafor says that the rebel group in the region has sent out a notice restricting movement and pretty much all activities (banks, schools, markets) starting this week. Here’s an excerpt:
“A rebel group in Ethiopia’s central Oromia region is placing restrictions on the movement of people and commercial activities following a surge in violent crime.”
The full story on The Guardian here and Semafor here.
A story, in Amharic, by Wazema Radio, here, explains why the previous two negotiations failed between the government and the OLA (and includes previously undisclosed information on some of the requests made by the rebel group). If you’re interested in this, I can send you some points in English, just hit reply and let me know.
Politics: deputy prime minister resigns
Last week the government announced the resignation of Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen (who also served as the country’s foreign minister).
His successor and the country’s new Deputy PM is Temesgen Tiruneh, the former Director General of the National Intelligence and Security Service, or ‘spy chief’ if you prefer to cut to the chase, as Reuters did.
The former Deputy PM had served for 11 years in that role and had, ‘survived a reorganisation of the ruling party that occurred after Abiy Ahmed took power in 2018’ according to the same story.
And what of his successor, Temesgen Tiruneh? A man who, ‘coordinated the government's response to a conflict that broke out last year in the Amhara region with local militias.’ You can go here to read my latest update from earlier this month to see how well that plan’s worked out in Amhara region.
What was the former deputy PM’s reason for resignation? Here’s an excerpt from a story on the East African:
“No reasons were given for his departure yet but a source told The EastAfrican he had previously requested to leave politics but was asked to stay on for a while longer to steer some of the country’s recent diplomatic engagements.”
On the other hand, talks of the Ethiopian Minister of Justice resigning have been debunked by Addis Standard.
The full story on the deputy PM’s resignation on The East African here, on Reuters here, and a story on Addis Standard detailing his career here.
Food: A for effort
Last week, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed nabbed one more prestigious award. This award, the Agricola Medal, is the ‘highest award’ given by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).
What’s the medal for? It is given to people who have had an ‘extraordinary role in undertaking outstanding and successful efforts in advancing the cause of global food security, poverty alleviation and nutrition.’
Why was the Ethiopian Prime Minister awarded this medal? The FAO’s head mentioned two things that the PM has done. One was the Wheat for Food Self-Sufficiency programme and the other was the Green Legacy Initiative.
What other things were said? Here’s an excerpt from FAO’s page:
“The Prime Minister further noted that when he had assumed office in 2018, Ethiopia was importing wheat to meet its internal demand and now it was self-sufficient and had been exporting wheat since 2023.”
Anyone following Ethiopia would know that reports of severe food insecurity have been making headlines for a while now. Just last week I wrote on the looming famine that people in Ethiopia’s Tigray region are facing.
You might be thinking: Maya, what’s that got to do with the award? Can’t these two things exist at the same time? Yes, they can and they have.
The full news on FAO’s page here.
Infrastructure: developments on the port deal
The month of January was flooded with updates on the port deal signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland. You can find updates from the previous week here and a breakdown of the start of this geopolitical controversy here.
More details on this port deal have emerged over the past week. Somaliland's Foreign Minister has now clarified that the naval base leased to the Ethiopian government will be strictly used for military purposes according to a story on the Associated Press. Commercial activities, on the other hand, will be handled through the Port of Berbera under Somaliland’s jurisdiction.
The government of Somalia had previously said that it is not open to mediation with Ethiopia on this issue unless this deal with Somaliland is first retracted. Retraction doesn’t seem like a possibility, especially following a meeting of Ethiopia’s ruling party (Prosperity Party) last week.
Here’s an excerpt from a story on The Reporter on that:
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has been busy with shuttle diplomacy, mobilizing allies against what Mogadishu calls a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, the Prosperity Party reaffirmed its commitment to the deal during a central committee meeting on January 26, signaling an end to the tensions is still out of reach. Mogadishu has warned of escalation “to a different level” if the MoU is not retracted.
The story talks about the chances of this issue escalating into an all-out war (low according to analysts), why Ethiopia was absent from IGAD’s meeting the week before (beyond the ‘schedule overlap’), and the ties between Ethiopia and Somalia (security, history, and Al-Shabab).
Meanwhile, UN Security Council members convened for closed consultations on this issue today.
The full story on AP here and The Reporter here.
Drugs: a quick stopover in Addis
Last week, Sahara Reporters ran a story about a Nigerian man who was caught at an airport in Lagos with 60 wraps of cocaine. He arrived on an Ethiopian Airlines flight that was coming from São Paulo, Brazil passing through Addis Abeba.
The wraps mentioned in the story amount to a little over 1.2 kilos and the man, named Udechukwu, had ingested it and had tried to get out of a body scan at the airport in what the story rightly described as, ‘a desperate bid to evade arrest.’
Here's an excerpt from the story:
In his statement, Udechukwu claimed he ingested the consignment in Brazil and was to discharge everything at the airport in Addis Ababa but could only excrete 15 pellets which he handed over to another member of his syndicate before his connecting flight to Nigeria was called.
In April last year, I wrote an update when the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime released a report that named Ethiopia as one of the main transit zones for trafficking cocaine worldwide.
The full story on Sahara Reporters here.
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