Interview with former Ethiopian leader edited to falsely attribute negative comments to him

Published on January 31, 2025 at 15:57
6 min read
By Tolera FIKRU GEMTA, AFP Ethiopia

Since Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 on a reform ticket, the country’s army has been battling rebel forces in its most populous regions. A post published on Facebook claims to show a video interview with Abiy’s predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn in which he warns about the disintegration of the country. However, this is false: the video was published more than a year ago, and parts of the original footage have been edited and reordered to change his optimistic tone to a negative one. Hailemariam’s foundation also rejected the claim about his outlook for Ethiopia.

The Facebook video begins with a speech bubble and Amharic text that reads: “‘The country is falling apart’, Hailemariam Desalegn said.”

Screenshot of the altered post, taken on January 29, 2025

Hailemariam resigned as Ethiopian prime minister in February 2018 following mass protests in the country (archived here). He is currently serving as board chairperson of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an African continental organisation.

More than 220 users have shared the post, which contains 52 seconds of footage showing Hailemariam speaking to the camera.

A similar post was also published on Facebook here.

“We have been killing each other for years. We should say enough now. Enough is enough; there should be no more bloodshed. Honestly, we have all made mistakes,” Hailemariam says at the start of the video.

“There should not be anyone who dares to claim the purity of bloodshed, especially those of us who are politically involved in the ruling party and...” says Hailemariam.

A noticeable jump in his voice occurs before he continues and says: “With the ongoing bloodshed and conflicts in Ethiopia, many people are wondering whether the country is on the verge of disintegration. Of course, the current critical situation can lead to such fears.”

As he says this, a photo of Abiy comes up.

After his voice skips again, Hailemariam says: “Things on the ground do not look like what some people write when they are in prison … It is possible to write gossip books of 200, 300, 400 or 500 pages if you concentrate for just one week.”

A picture showing the cover of a recently published book by popular Ethiopian opposition politician Jawar Mohammed pops up.

Human rights violations

Ethiopia’s army and rebel forces in Oromia and Amhara regions remain locked in ongoing conflicts. In Oromia, the army has been fighting rebels from the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) since 2018, while in Amhara, they have been battling Fano rebels since July 2023.

On January 24, 2025, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released a new report that indicated a rise in extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the two regions, Ethiopia’s most populous (archived here).

According to the report, grave rights violations against civilians have escalated in the conflict-affected areas.

However, the claim that the video shows Hailemariam recently lamenting his country as one in decline is unfounded.

Altered video

AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video.

The results led to a longer video published about a year and a half ago.

It was published on YouTube by Addis Maleda, a multimedia outlet based in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, on August 3, 2023 (archived here).

The YouTube video is more than 50 minutes long and shows journalists interviewing Hailemariam.

At the 47-minute mark, Hailemariam tells his interviewers: “I believe we can come out of the current crises. The vital issue is to be committed to settling our problems through dialogue. There should not be anyone who dares to claim the purity of bloodshed, especially those of us who are politically involved in the ruling party and opposition parties or others who were involved in politics with differing levels, we all have our contributions to the current crises. I hope the time will come when we all admit this and commit ourselves to resolve it.”

However, in the altered clip, his speech ends halfway, after the words “ruling party,” creating the impression – aided by the addition of a photo of Abiy – that Hailemariam is speaking of state failure attributed solely to the government.

Screenshot of the original video (left) and the altered clip with the photo of Abiy, taken on January 29, 2025

At 49”22’ in the original video, Hailemariam then says: “I am also optimistic about the future of Ethiopia, considering the history of countries that became world powers. The Americans have gone through tragic civil wars, the same goes for the Europeans. But they said enough is enough and switched to democracy. So why not us?”

However, these hopeful statements about his vision for the future of Ethiopia were deliberately omitted. Furthermore, the altered video began with these words that followed: “We have been killing each other for years. We should say enough now. Enough is enough, there should be no more bloodshed. I think now is the time to say enough.”

Through omission and by changing the order of his answers, it gives the impression that Hailemariam is fed up with the Ethiopian state and worried about its fragmentation.

Similarly, the first and last sentences are removed when Hailemariam says, moments later: “I always believe that there is hope for Ethiopia. Otherwise, I know that with the ongoing bloodshed and conflict in Ethiopia, many people are wondering whether the country is on the verge of disintegration. Of course, the current critical situation can lead to such fears. But it is very important to calm down and work on transforming the country.”

Again, this type of editing make it seem like Hailemariam believes Ethiopia is falling apart.

Toward the end of the original interview, a journalist asks Hailemariam if he intends to write an autobiography.

“Writing a book is not a big deal. However one should conduct thorough research before writing. It should be like those who write while they are under custody in prison. It is possible to write gossip by sitting down in a prison. But I do not want to write such a book. I want to write a book with very solid data and evidence.”

He adds: “You can write gossip books of 200, 300, 400 or 500 pages if you concentrate for just one week.”

Once more, only the last sentence is retained in the altered clip. At the same time, the cover page of memoirs recently published by Ethiopian opposition politician and government critic Jawar Mohammed appears on screen, to make it seem like Hailemariam is talking about Jawar’s book.

Screenshots of the original video (left) and the altered footage with Jawar’s book cover (right), taken on January 30, 2025

Jawar’s memoirs, titled “I Will Not Regret,” were published in December 2024, more than a year after the original interview with Hailemariam.

Israel Endale, the spokesperson for the Hailemariam and his Roman Foundation – a non-profit organisation founded in April 2018 – described the claim as “fictitious”.

Speaking to AFP Fact Check, Israel said: “The claims made by certain media outlets are based on a fictitious assertion. It is important to clarify that the former prime minister never stated that his country was falling apart.”

Furthermore, he confirmed that Hailemariam’s interview was purposefully altered and shared on social media to mislead the public.

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