Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba and other political prisoners currently on trial facing bogus charges are considering presenting their cases in Afaan Oromo in future court appearances, according to sources close to their defence team. For high profile political prisoners equally proficient in both languages to do this is a significant act of defiance against the Ethiopian state which has always used courtrooms as a weapon to unleash targeted violence against politically conscious Oromos (in most cases in a language that the defendants are completely unfamiliar with). In this instance their decision may not make a material difference in terms of influencing the outcome for we all know this is a political show trial with a predetermined verdict. However, at the very least it will expose to the world that Ethiopian federal courts still do not recognise the language of the country's largest ethnic group (45 million +) in their own capital, FINFINNE, other than through an interpreter.
When Abiy Ahmed was recently asked in a recent OBN interview why he didn't push for Afaan Oromo to become a federal working language, he said "officials from other regions have now started saying #akkam #galatoomaa in between their speeches when they come to our region and I have started posting updates in Afaan Oromo. This is a huge progress". Not only did he present this as a major breakthrough, he also asked the journalist to come back and ask him the same question in 20 years time if he wanted a more significant achievement. Such is the delusion the Prime Minister is in. Oromos will not wait 20 more years for him to deliver and most importantly he's living in a fool's paradise to think he'll still be in office 20 years from now. Jawar and co will come out bigger and victorious out of this politically motivated witch-hunt and, in the process, expose Abiy for what he really is. A dangerously deluded wannabe king with an imperial mindset who came out of nowhere to hijack the people's quest for freedom, equality and justice. It may not seem like it at the minute but it's a matter of time before Abiy is violently ousted and thrown where he belongs - in the dustbin of history.
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