Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office announced yesterday that he was replacing the defence minister, a fellow ethnic Oromo and former ally after he was openly critical of Abiy’s political reforms. As part of a cabinet reshuffle against the backdrop of recent ethnic violence in the country, Ahmed appointed Kene’a Yadeta as the new defence minister, replacing Lemma Megersa. Lemma opposed the formation of the Prosperity Party, which was established by the incumbent Prime Minister Ahmed last year as a successor to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) with the hopes of uniting the country through a coalition of ethno-regional parties. Ethnic tensions gripped the country last month, following the murder of an influential singer and activist from the Oromo ethnic community, 34-year old Hachalu Hundessa. Abiy Ahmed recently congratulated the UAE and Israel over their peace deal, describing it as a “monumental decision to normalize relations between the two countries”.

Source: Ethiopian News August 19, 2020 15:33 UTC