Dr. Werkineh Gebeyehu Woldekidan of Hamasein and Dr. Fekadu Beyene Aleka of Gojjame

By Masud the Native of Oromia

This week, we heard funny news about TPLF-led Ethiopian Government’s new cabinet ministers. Prime Minister Haile Marian Boshie announced that out of the 21 newly appointed ministers, 9 are Oromo. The Oromo people are struggling for system change and TPLF-led Ethiopian Government is making cabinet change. Something is missing. TPLF still think it can control the Oromo people by using Afan Oromo speaking soldiers of fortune. Let us closely look at two of the newly appointed Afan Oromo speaking ministers as a sample.

As some of you might know well, during 1936-1941 Italian occupation of Ethiopia, a lots of Hamaseinians (Eritreans) joined the invading Italian forces and fought the Oromos and other peoples in Ethiopia assisting Italians. The saying of one of the Oromo hero who fought Italian forces, Obbo Filie Mandira, reminds us this fact very well. He said:

Hamsaniin daggala,
Ani Filie Mandira
Meeqaan ciree dandaha?
In short he said, the number of Hamaseins fighting alongside Italians is huge like a forest; how many of them should I, Filie Mandira, kill?

Some of the Italian servant Hamaseins were killed during the 1936-1941 war, some of them went back to Eritrea after the end of the war and the rest remain in Oromia and settled there. Numbers of Hamaseins are still found in some parts of Oromia like around Shashemane and the family of Werkineh Gebeyehu Woldekidan is one of them. As Abate Kisho said, unless they differentiate each other, Tigre is Tigre. Therefore, for most people all Tigregna speaking people are called Tigres- without making clear distinction between Tigres of Eritrea and Tigres of Tigray. That is why most people say Werkineh Gebeyeh Woldekidan is Tigre, without going into further detail.

The other major event happened in Oromia during 1936-1941 Italian occupation of Oromia was liberating Oromo lands from occupying Neftegna Amharas. As a part of this process, Obbo Dhuguma Jaldesso of Limu (Wellega) removed Gojjames and Gonderes who came to the region since the battle of Embabo of 1882. Dhuguma Jaldesso used Italian occupation as an opportunity for Oromo national resistance against Amhara occupation and removed them from Oromo lands in Limu, Ebantu, and Jidda up to Chabir near Shambo in Horo Guduru. One of the remnants of these Gojjames is the family of Fekadu Beyene Aleka. Aleka is usual more of a title for someone who claims to be a priest, but taken as a name through process.

TPLF officials who have the power to hire and fire are once again hiring Afan Oromo speaking individuals to use them as instruments against Oromos. Oromos should know this old trick. The demand of Oromo is system change, not replacing one servant with another. Jailing the genuine Oromo leaders and appointing Afan Oromo speaking non-Oromos to use them against Oromo is undermining the demand of Oromo people.