Controversial song added to footage of well-known Ethiopian preacher dancing on stage

The post was published on Facebook on March 27, 2023 and has been shared more than 900 times.

“How do you see Begashaw Desalegn in this video?”, the Amharic post asks. “Anyhow, Teddy Afro has gotten a real cover for his music clip now. We say may your soul rest in peace to Bage [Begashaw].”

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Screenshot of the post with the altered video, taken on March 31, 2023

Begashaw Desalegn is a former Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church cleric who switched denominations to Protestant. Teddy Afro is a famous Amharic singer in Ethiopia.

The clip in the post appears to show Begashaw dancing in mock armour to a song that praises Menelik II, who famously defeated the Italians at the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

The footage was taken at a religious conference held by leaders of Protestant churches in Addis Ababa on March 26, 2023.

At the conference, Begashaw appeared in a traditional Roman soldier’s military uniform that he said showed him to be “the army of Jesus Christ”.

His sermon and costume triggered heated discussions on Facebook (see here and here).

Church rift

A rift in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church led to deadly violence in February 2023. AFP reported that eight people were killed during unrest in Shashemene -- about 250 km from the capital Addis Ababa -- after the bishops from Oromia, the largest region in Ethiopia, created a separate synod.

However, the central holy synod announced on March 15, 2023 that the dispute was resolved.

The church leaders further stated in a press release published on March 30, 2023 that the excommunications imposed on three bishops from Oromia were lifted and the trio restored to their regular religious service.

Controversial song

“Tikur Sew”, meaning “Black man”, is a song by popular Ethiopian singer Tewodros Kassahun, better known by his stage name Teddy Afro. The song praises the victories of Menelik II and his warlords over Italian forces at Adwa in March 1896.

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Screenshot of Tikur Sew song's artwork, taken on March 31, 2023

However, both the singer and the song have created controversy among some ethnic groups in Ethiopia. According to an AFP report, “Tikur Sew” is considered offensive among many Oromos as it glorifies the former emperor, who brutally annexed the Oromo ethnic group into the Ethiopian empire in the 19th century.

However, the clip of Begashaw doesn’t show him dancing to “Tikur Sew”.

Altered video

AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the footage. We found the clip in the false posts to be a 30-second extract from Begashaw's sermon on March 26, 2023.

The full video of Begashaw preaching runs for more than 36 minutes and was shared on YouTube on March 27, 2023.

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Screenshot of the original video, taken on March 31, 2023

While on stage, Begashaw denied any bad blood with his former church.

About 25 minutes into his recorded sermon, Begashaw jumps up and down on stage while the audience shouts in response.

At this point, the sound of the crowd was replaced with part of the track “Tikur Sew” and shared on social media with the false claim.

In the altered audio, the lyrics “Menelik! Black man” from “Tikur Sew” is repeated in Amharic.

The post triggered hostile debate among Facebook users, attracting more than 2,500 comments from religious followers loyal to the Ethiopian Orthodox and Protestant churches. Some realized the video had been altered and criticised this.

“Anyone who created this video did an action of Satan as a follower of evil. This will not belittle Begashaw who is saved by Christ,” wrote one user.