October 29, 2024
borkena
Toronto – It has been over ten days since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed Gedion Timothewos as Foreign Affairs Minister after removing him from his role as Minister for Justice – a position that was given to his spouse after his departure.
Gedion has been executing Foreign Affairs Minister role for the past few days. And a day before the Ethiopian Parliament discussed his appointment, a formal “welcome” ceremony was organized in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
It was on Tuesday this week that the Ethiopian Parliament – over 95 percent of the members are from the ruling party – discussed the appointment of Gedion Timotheos and four other ministers. One of them was his own spouse who was appointed as Minister for Justice. The appointments of Selamawit Kassa’s (Minister for Tourism), Shewit Shanka (Minister for culture and sport) and Kassahun Gofe (Minister for Trade and Regional Integration) were also discussed. It was approved unanimously.
Only one member of parliament opposed it and two members abstained from voting. The rest of the members who attended the meeting approved Gedion who already started his work more than a week ago before the formal legal/political protocol in the parliament.
“Gedion Timothewos is not qualified to be foreign Affairs Minister,” said Dr. Desalegne Chanie who joined the parliament representing the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA). Apart from questioning his qualifications, Dr. Desalegne was critical of Gedion’s performance as Minister For Justice. “What did he achieve that was special than those who were in the position before him,” he continued to ask.
Under Gedion Timotheos tenure, three members of parliaments ( at the federal, regional and city level) were dragged from their residences, beaten and thrown to a harsh prison before the parliament met to lift their immunity.
There have been claims of reform in the Ministry of Justice. However, there are still voices that the Ministry has continued to be a political tool for Abiy Ahmed’s government.
Ustaz Kamil Shemsu, a member who joined the parliament as an independent candidate, added voices in questioning Gedion’s qualification as Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, he hailed him for his “knowledge” in legal matters. He remarked that the Minister for Foreign Affairs needed to have “knowledge of diplomacy and experience.”
There are reports from some Ethiopian media outlets that Gedion and his family, from protest religion, are loyal to Abiy Ahmed ( also a protestant.) There are also speculations that Abiy Ahmed deliberately chose Gedion’s spouse as Minister for Justice to potentially conceal evidence that made Abiy Ahmed liable in connection with rights abuse and massacre of civilians.
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