In a stunning display of hypocrisy, a former TPLF insider and now flashy special advisor on Horn of Africa affairs has taken to national television to justify his role in what is considered to be blatant government robbery. He defended the decision to use the Kombolcha issue account—a fund that once held around 4 billion birr, roughly equivalent to 30 million dollars—to finance a war effort. According to his own admission, this was “the right decision” at the time, even as he and his TPLF cohorts built a legacy of corruption and misappropriation that stretches far beyond what he now decries.
The same man who boasts about a fraud that took from the pockets of Ethiopians has never faced a judge or seen a Supreme Court bench regarding his role in siphoning off government funds. Instead, he has been granted an influential position as a special advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. This appointment not only undermines the judiciary but also highlights an unsettling trend where government officials, involved—even if tacitly—in serious financial misdeeds, remain—almost celebratorily—at the helm of state affairs. His televised confession, far from leading to accountability, seems to have justified his continued influence and exposed a system willing to overlook criminal behavior for political expediency.
We live at a time now an educated and influential figure confessing his crimes with his TPLF associates as if it makes him any less guilty. The catastrophic loss of Amhara and Tigray lives can be directly traced back to the reckless actions of him and his TPLF associates. While he accuses others of corruption, notably lambasting President Isaias Afeworki for incarcerating citizens to extort diaspora contributions of $4,000, he openly admits that he was responsible for misappropriating billions from public funds. His claim that the illegal gold trade and financial theft were necessities of war rings hollow when considered alongside his privileged position and the fact that he has evaded any meaningful judicial consequence. The same corruption he indicts in his political adversaries—General Megbe Haile, General Haileselassie, and others—is the very behavior he himself has engaged in.
This conflict of interest sends a disturbing message about leadership and accountability in times of crisis. A man who uses his televised confessions to frame himself as a whistleblower for the people, all while remaining complicit in the abuses he alleges, casts a long shadow over any claims of genuine concern for the Tigray population or the integrity of government operations. The fact that someone with such a tarnished record not only occupies a significant advisory role but also enjoys political protection underlines a system where the rules are applied selectively and where the true cost of war is borne by the people rather than the powerful.
Questions about responsibility and integrity must now be raised at the highest levels. By elevating a figure who has confessed to stealing from the government, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed not only implicates himself but also sends a clear signal that corruption, even on a massive scale, is tolerable if it serves political interests. The ongoing strife in Tigray is compounded by a leadership that appears more interested in preserving its own power and wealth than in delivering justice or genuine support to a community already reeling from the consequences of war.
