Dr. MeKonnen Birru
Professor @ the University of Houston ([email protected])
In the heart of Ethiopia, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a fragile balance between peace, conflict, and political power had been struck. His government, a complex mosaic of reforms and oppression, was one that seemed to breathe with contradictions. Abiy, who rose to power with a promise of peace and transformation, had become entangled in a web of decisions that reflected the very fragility of the power he held.
One of the most glaring examples of the contradictions of Abiy’s rule was the case of Taye Dendeh. Taye, a former member of Abiy’s Prosperity Party and once a key minister in his government, had played a pivotal role in the initial reforms of the ruling coalition. As an Oromo, Taye had been a passionate advocate for the rights and freedom of his people. His leadership was integral in the movement toward what was meant to be a more inclusive Ethiopia, one where all ethnic groups could have a voice in the country’s political future.
However, as time passed, Taye’s idealism began to clash with the reality of Abiy’s rule. While Abiy championed the idea of unity, Taye increasingly became disillusioned with the centralization of power under the Prime Minister’s leadership. He felt that, despite Abiy’s promises of peace and democracy, the rights of the Ethiopian people, in particular Oromo people, were being overlooked in favor of political maneuvering and control. This frustration led Taye to become one of the most vocal critics of Abiy Ahmed.
Taye’s disillusionment with Abiy’s leadership soon turned into open criticism. He began publicly calling Abiy “cruel” and “authoritarian,” accusing him of betraying the very values that had once united them. In his eyes, Abiy had transformed from a reformist leader into a dictator, consolidating power while silencing opposition. Taye’s strong condemnation was not just political but deeply personal, as he felt betrayed by someone he had once considered a partner in the fight for change. He could no longer reconcile the promises of peace with the reality of an increasingly repressive government.
In an unexpected move, Taye was detained by the government—no charges, no trial, just a swift disappearance in the dead of night. His case was not an isolated one. Thousands of others, political prisoners and dissenters, shared the same fate—captured without trial, their voices silenced by the state. Abiy’s government, once hailed for its promise of peace, was now increasingly accused of prioritizing control over justice. Taye, who had once fought for Oromo freedom from within the Prosperity Party, was now a symbol of the very repression he had once hoped to dismantle.
For months, Taye languished in prison. His family, supporters, and many of whom had once rallied behind Abiy’s rise to power, were now left questioning the integrity of the government. Taye’s continued imprisonment was emblematic of a broader climate of fear and repression. Abiy, despite his initial promises, had created a political environment where dissent was punishable and political freedom was stifled.
But in an unexpected turn of events, Taye was finally released from prison. The news spread quickly, and his family, long desperate for his return, rejoiced. Yet, this fleeting moment of freedom was short-lived. As Taye stepped out of the prison gates, he was immediately apprehended by government forces, captured once again at the very door of his liberation. His re-arrest felt like an ominous sign, an act of political maneuvering to maintain control over a narrative that seemed increasingly out of the government’s grasp. Was Taye truly free, or was he merely a pawn in a broader game of power?
As Taye’s case unfolded, the fragile nature of Abiy’s government became ever more apparent. Abiy’s promise of peace, epitomized by his Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, now seemed like a distant memory. The peace process he had once heralded, including the historic steps toward reconciliation with Eritrea, now stood in sharp contrast to the growing internal instability and the repression of dissenting voices. Abiy, in his quest to maintain control, had returned to old tactics of centralizing power, even as his promises of unity seemed to slip further from reality. The government oscillated between reform and repression, between promises of inclusivity and the harsh reality of imprisonment and political exclusion.
In the same week, Abiy’s government propagating negotiating with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a group long labeled a “terrorist” organization by the state. The OLF fighters, once scattered in Ethiopia’s countryside, were brought to Addis Ababa as part of a broader peace deal with the promise of a more inclusive political future. They were hailed by some as freedom fighters, while others viewed their presence in the capital with deep suspicion. This was a sign of Abiy’s contradictory approach: while trying to negotiate peace with old enemies, he continued to silence dissent from within his own ranks.
Abiy’s government was increasingly a patchwork of uneasy alliances. While the arrival of the OLF in Addis Ababa was seen as a tentative step toward peace, the situation remained precarious. The peace processes, both with the OLF and the TPLF, created a fragile environment where no side fully trusted the other. Each negotiation seemed more like a delicate balancing act, with both sides trying to protect their interests in a nation fractured by years of conflict and division.
Abiy’s government had evolved into a complex and fragile structure—caught between the aspirations of peace and the realities of maintaining power. The arrest and release of Taye Dendeh, the shifting alliances with the TPLF and OLF, and the ongoing human rights violations all pointed to a government in crisis, one unable to reconcile its ideals with the actions it took to preserve its authority.
As Ethiopia struggled with these contradictions, the future remained uncertain. Would Abiy’s fragile peace endure with OLF sect, or would the shadows of repression, ethnic conflict, and political exclusion cast long over the country’s future? The people of Ethiopia, like Taye, waited—caught in the shifting currents of a government that promised change but often delivered fear. It was a story of a nation grappling with its identity, caught between transformation and the hard realities of power. The road ahead was neither clear nor easy, and the journey toward peace seemed more tenuous than ever.
