How Ethiopia brainwashes and controls political narratives in South west Ethiopia
Posted: 12 Apr 2026, 09:03
Southwest Ethiopia includes Gurage, Kembata, Hadiya, Dorze, Welaita, Gofa, Gamo, Kefa, and the Omo River basin nations. These groups demanded Regions of their own per the Constitution of 1995 but denied. Rather, they are clustered into Central Ethiopia, South Ethiopia and Southwest Ethiopia regions, containing disparate languages, cultures and histories. Since the forced cluster came into effect in 2023, their movements for self-determination according law have been crushed and their proponents still languish in jail without charges. The loud voices are for peace and Ethiopian unity, most chauvinistic of narratives defeated by Ethiopians movements for self-determination. It alienates Southwest Ethiopia from the large parts of Ethiopia that fought and still fights for self-determination such as Oromo, Tigrey, Somali, etc.
In the second place of Ethiopia's oppressive tools is the PM chosen appointments to political offices of the regions, willing participants in the violations of the constitutional rights of their groups in the region to deny their rights in an approved referendum.
The 3rd tool in the arsenal of power abuse by PM Abiy Ahmed is stick and carrot. He allocates lowest per capital annual budgets to these regions year after year. To get more money regions are allowed to beg for more. Money offered will depend on how 'nice', 'how 'Ethiopian' the region or the tribes behaved. Whorus ze-Kistane, no doubt, has money in mind, when he extols the Clown as Ataturk, Moses of Ethiopia.
In the second place of Ethiopia's oppressive tools is the PM chosen appointments to political offices of the regions, willing participants in the violations of the constitutional rights of their groups in the region to deny their rights in an approved referendum.
The 3rd tool in the arsenal of power abuse by PM Abiy Ahmed is stick and carrot. He allocates lowest per capital annual budgets to these regions year after year. To get more money regions are allowed to beg for more. Money offered will depend on how 'nice', 'how 'Ethiopian' the region or the tribes behaved. Whorus ze-Kistane, no doubt, has money in mind, when he extols the Clown as Ataturk, Moses of Ethiopia.