In just days, one song by Tewodros "Teddy Afro" Kassahun has ignited a firestorm—revealing not unity, but multiple Ethiopias speaking past each other. What appears as controversy is, in truth, a deeper collision of meanings shaped by power, history, identity, and memory. This article unpacks the layered messages behind the moment, exposing how one song became a prism through which a fractured empire sees itself.
A disturbing video circulating on social media—showing an elderly man brutally beaten during a militia interrogation—captures, in a single frame, the depth of Oromia’s moral collapse since 2018. What should have been unthinkable has become disturbingly routine: dignity discarded, elders humiliated, and violence normalized. This is no longer about isolated abuses—it is about a systemic erosion of values that once defined and anchored Oromo society. History will judge those who enabled, ignored, or presided over this collapse.
Yonas Biru’s “Gadaa is part apartheid” is not scholarship but a political prosecution dressed in citations. It announces a verdict (“Oromummaa is a lie”), then cherry-picks evidence to delegitimize Oromo identity claims, smear Oromo scholarship as extremism, and insinuate guilt-by-association with violence. The apartheid analogy is a sensational moral grenade, not a serious comparison. UNESCO’s recognition of Gadaa underscores its governance value, not Yonas Biru caricature.
The attempt to erase Professor Asafa Jalata’s scholarship has achieved the opposite. By attacking decades of rigorous research on Oromummaa, Amhara extremist elites have elevated Asafa Jalata into a historical league of scholars once vilified for naming injustice. Suppression has not weakened the Oromo claim; it has validated it. When scholarship is silenced rather than debated, it is not the scholar who is exposed—but the fear of those who cannot tolerate truth.
Excerpt This article examines the enduring racist worldview propagated by sections of the Amhara political elite in Ethiopia, with specific reference to a recent video conference led by Professor Getachew Begashaw. It explores how dehumanizing ethnic slurs, territorial revisionism, and historical denialism reflect a psychological phenomenon best understood through Carl Jung’s concept of the Collective...
The emerging Habesha Axis—an uneasy alignment of Amhara, Tigray, and Eritrean elites—reveals a deeper truth: historic rivals will unite to suppress Oromo political empowerment. Despite decades of hostility, these actors find common cause in opposing self-determination for Oromia. This convergence is not about unity, but about preserving an old imperial center. Naming it for what it is, the article argues that it is crucial to understanding why Ethiopia’s future hinges on justice for the Oromo and Oromia.
Excerpt The crisis of Oromia can be summed up in a single, stark sentence: Oromia’s greatest hazard is its own wealth. The sheer abundance of its resources has drawn in competing forces, each vying for control. This relentless scramble has made the realization of Oromia’s self-determination—a cause championed for decades—an even more daunting challenge. Today,...
The Oromo's journey reflects the universal struggle for freedom and equality. From resisting colonial subjugation to fostering a democratic renaissance through Gadaa and Oromummaa, their story is a testament to the enduring power of collective identity and the pursuit of justice in the face of adversity. FREEDOM JUSTICE PEACE SAFUU SEERA ...
