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PM Abiy faces haunting past in an attempt to reform political system

2020-07-13 08:15:07 Written by  AGGREY MUTAMBO Published in English Articles Read 1743 times
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SUNDAY JULY 12 2020

Abiy

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed delivers a speech at the House of Peoples' Representatives of Ethiopia on the current political and economic issues of the country on February 3, 2020, in Addis Ababa. PHOTO | MICHAEL TEWELDE | AFP

Summary

  • Two weeks ago, popular singer and activist Hachalu HundesSa was gunned down in Addis Ababa, sparking protests mainly in his native Oromia region.
  • The singer, popular in Ethiopia and the diaspora, became a leading activist for the Oromo, Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group of about 40 million. No member of the community had tasted power till Abiy’s ascent.
  • Some of Abiy’s critics say he failed to read history where he would have learnt what to avoid.

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By AGGREY MUTAMBO

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is rarely described as a man under siege.

The first Oromo to become Prime Minister, he also became the first Ethiopian to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Those accolades came as Abiy attempted to reform the country’s political system, freed prisoners and allowed banned entities to operate freely. Two years later, his reformist credentials are facing uncertainty.

Two weeks ago, popular singer and activist Hachalu Hundesa was gunned down in Addis Ababa, sparking protests mainly in his native Oromia region.

Abiy’s office issued a lengthy statement on Friday, pledging to bring the musician’s killers to book, but chastised his opponents “for taking advantage of the incident to sow seeds of discord”.

There is an attempt to paint a wrong picture of the political situation by highlighting piecemeal information, with little effort to delve into what really happened,” Abiy’s office said.

Source=https://www.nation.co.ke/kenya/news/africa/pm-abiy-faces-haunting-past-in-an-attempt-to-reform-political-system-1556066

Last modified on Monday, 13 July 2020 10:18