The human thirst for power knows no bounds. Again and again, history and fiction remind us that when power is at stake, no bond—whether of blood, ideology, or brotherhood—is sacred. The annals of history are littered with betrayals that make us shudder at the sheer depravity of man’s ambition.
Historical Echoes of Treachery
Julius Caesar (44 BC): Perhaps the most famous betrayal in history—Brutus, a trusted ally, plunged the dagger into Caesar for the supposed “greater good” of Rome. Shakespeare immortalized this treachery in the powerful line: “Et tu, Brute?”
Stalin’s Purges (1930s USSR): The paranoid dictator systematically eliminated his closest comrades—Trotsky, Bukharin, Zinoviev—crushing those who once fought by his side.
The Night of the Long Knives (1934 Germany): Hitler purged his own allies, including Ernst Röhm, to secure absolute control.
Cain and Abel: The first recorded murder in human history—a brother slain by his own kin, driven by jealousy and the lust for divine favor.
Averting the Abyss: The Betrayal of Lamma Magarsa (2025):
Now, we almost witnessed an entry into this dark historical ledger—one that would have surpassed them all in depravity. The treachery brewing between Abiy Ahmed and Lamma Magarsa, once seemingly inseparable allies, is a saga so appalling that it leaves one aghast at the boundless depths of human cruelty.
Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime minister, once showered Lamma Magarsa with words akin to an oath of eternal brotherhood—rhetoric that now rings hollow in the wake of his latest scheme. Reports suggest Abiy, unsatiated in his hunger for absolute power, sought to have Lamma arrested in Italy and extradited to Ethiopia, a move that would have effectively handed him over to the machinery of extrajudicial execution. If successful, this would have marked a betrayal unlike any other.
The Fool and the Shrewd: A Tale of Two Oromo Leaders
Some analysts argue that Lamma Magarsa was naive, a fool who underestimated the ruthless nature of Ethiopian politics, while Abiy Ahmed was the shrewd manipulator who played the game to perfection. But this interpretation is flawed. Lamma was not a fool—he was a man of principle, shaped by the values of the Oromo Gadaa system, a sociopolitical tradition rooted in collective governance, fairness, and humanity. In contrast, Abiy Ahmed thrived in a political culture built on deception, coercion, and betrayal—qualities that define Ethiopia’s imperial legacy of governance.
Before 2018, when the Oromo movement was in full force, where was Abiy? Nowhere near the struggle. While Lamma and his allies led a people’s movement demanding justice, Abiy was entrenched in Ethiopia’s security apparatus, actively participating in the repression of Oromos. He was not a liberator but an enforcer, serving the very system that brutalized his own people.
Abiy has even openly boasted about his role in strengthening Ethiopia’s infamous spy network, INSA (Information Network Security Agency), turning it into one of the most effective surveillance tools of state repression. His legacy before assuming power was not one of resistance or reform but of surveillance, suppression, and systematic human rights abuses.
So when Lamma voluntarily stepped aside to elevate Abiy in 2018, it was not an act of political miscalculation but of selfless leadership. Lamma believed in a vision greater than himself. Abiy, on the other hand, believed in nothing but himself. And as history now shows, Lamma’s goodwill was met with treachery.
Lamma Magarsa: The Kingmaker Betrayed
Lamma Magarsa was not merely a political colleague of Abiy Ahmed; he was the architect of Abiy’s rise to power. The Oromo Protest movement that shook Ethiopia in the late 2010s would not have culminated in Abiy’s ascent without Lamma’s pivotal role. At the time, Abiy was an obscure figure, a shadow within the system. It was Lamma who vacated his leadership position within the then OPDO to crown Abiy—an act of trust and sacrifice nearly unheard of in modern cutthroat politics.
What did Lamma gain in return? The moment Abiy consolidated power, he disposed of his benefactor like an unwanted pawn:
- Lamma was removed from the Oromia presidency and replaced by Shimalis Abdissa, a man whose sole purpose was to be Abiy’s subservient mouthpiece.
- He was shifted to a powerless defense minister role, a nominal position while real military control remained under Abiy’s direct grip.
- When Lamma opposed the dissolution of the EPRDF in favor of the now-ruling Prosperity Party (Poverty Party in reality), Abiy openly turned against him.
House arrest soon followed, and it was only U.S. intervention that secured Lamma’s escape to Italy under the guise of a FAO position. That escape, it turns out, might have been his only chance at survival.
Cain’s Envy: The Root of Abiy’s Hatred
Why would Abiy, a man who already sits atop the Ethiopian power structure, so desperately want Lamma Magarsa back under his control, even at the cost of international scandal? Simple: jealousy.
Throughout history, tyrants have never tolerated those who outshine them, even in mere popularity. Abiy’s hatred is reserved for those who command admiration beyond his reach—figures like Lamma Magarsa and Jawar Mohammed. These are not just political adversaries; they are reminders of everything Abiy lacks: authentic leadership, wisdom, and unwavering loyalty to a cause greater than self-preservation.
Thus, when Shimalis Abdissa, the ever-obedient lapdog, recently accused Lamma of leading the OLA from abroad, many dismissed it as an absurd joke. Marro Dirriba is the widely known leader of the OLA, making the accusation laughable at best. But in retrospect, Shimalis was merely setting the stage—a prelude to the next step in the “Distort, Defame, Destroy” doctrine that the Poverty Party has mastered.
A Godforsaken Empire of Depravity
For now, Lamma Magarsa remains free, and Abiy’s latest plot appears thwarted. But this episode serves as a chilling reminder that, in Ethiopia’s empire of depravity, no one is safe. Betrayal is not a question of “if” but “when.”
We have seen this pattern repeat itself throughout history. Some, like Caesar and Röhm, do not live to tell the tale. Others, like Trotsky, flee—only to be hunted down years later. Will Lamma Magarsa be another name on the long list of fallen allies? Or will this be Ethiopia’s moment of reckoning? Time will tell.
For now, we wait. But history has already written the ending before.
