Ethiopian mayor's remarks on threat of migrants and extremists are taken out of context

The Amharic post translates to: "The mayor said, 'We are worried that Amhara will overtake our power if they enter Addis Ababa'. Adanech Abebie’s statement in which she said people entering Addis Ababa from the Amhara region pose a risk and threat to our power has led to disappointment."

Image

Screenshot of the false post, taken on March 20, 2023

The post was published on March 14, 2023. It includes an image of Adanech and a link to a video of her speaking during a city council meeting.

Addis Ababa's mayor is appointed by the city council’s 138 elected members. The council conducted its third regular assembly on March 14, 2023 when Adanech presented a half-year report.

The footage in the clip shows part of this address to the council.

Anger in Addis Ababa

Unrest surfaced in the weeks leading up to the meeting.

Sheger, a new city comprising six towns on the outskirts of Addis Ababa and located in the Oromia region, was inaugurated in late February 2023.

According to media reports, residents protested against the demolition of what officials have described as “illegal houses” standing in the way of the development.

Tensions erupted (report archived here) in Addis Ababa on March 2, 2023, during Adwa Victory celebrations to mark the win of Ethiopian forces under King Menelik II over Italian forces in March 1896.

Mayor’s speech

While Adanech mentioned the issue of migration in her city council speech, she did not single out people from the Amhara region for trying to take over power in Addis Ababa.

Using the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify and reverse image searches on keyframes from the footage, AFP Fact Check found that the video in the post was a minute-long extract from the mayor’s speech delivered on March 14, 2023.

The complete address, which lasts close to 55 minutes, was shared on Facebook by Addis Media Network (AMN), a broadcaster owned by the city administration.

The extract in the misleading post starts more than 48 minutes into Adanech’s speech.

"In recent times we have faced challenges that intended to overthrow the legally elected government through creating instability in the city," the mayor said in Amharic.

"Especially, the migration from some regions to Addis Ababa has been accompanied by activities such as extremism, hatred, and efforts to create ethnic violence and instability in the city; meanwhile also creating mistrust among peoples who have been living together for a long time."

She also addressed the issue of land grabbing and mentioned that urban migration made it difficult for city officials to provide services to everyone.