It is not unusual to hear stories of African leaders linked to corruption stashing away millions of dollars (even billions) in oversea banks. Ethiopia itself is now corrupted at a higher level. However, the story of Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam, who is currently living in Zimbabwe, is remarkable different in a good way. Two of his siblings revealed the story in an interview with Journalist Dereje Haile.
As a man who led Ethiopia for 17 good years, Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam is definitely one of the most controversial figures in Ethiopian history.
There are those who accuse him as “butcher of Ethiopia,” as was often propagated in mainstream media in the west. He is mostly accused of the “red terror”, certainly one of the darkest spots in the contemporary history of Ethiopia, and they claim that he is personally responsible for the deaths of thousands of young Ethiopians.
And there are those who tend to see his leadership within the context of a revolutionary situation in the country starting the year 1974 and in light of struggle between “revolutionary” and “counter-revolutionary” forces. This group argued that the “red terror” was rather a response to a political group that dared to advance opposition to the transitional military government, which Mengistu led; through violent means (they call it “white terror).
We still have another group of Ethiopians who tend to criticize Mengistu but for a different reason. They blame him for leaving Ethiopia and for not fighting to the end of his own life in Ethiopia. From the perspective of this group, there seems to be an assumption that Mengistu made a conscious choice to escape from Ethiopia and leave for Zimbabwe – which is still a debate that is not settled for good.
What is not disputable about Mengistu Hailemariam is that he led a selfless life as a leader and is not implicated in corruption – in all its forms.
