Ethiopia’s PM, Abiy Ahmed (pictured), has appointed ten senior officials to various positions in government as part of a cabinet shuffle. This was announced by the PM’s office on twitter.

The ministry of justice is now headed by Gedion Timothewos, with Tesfaye Daba and Fekadu Tsega as new deputy attorneys general. Samuel Urkato is the new minister of science and higher education while Takele Uma became minister of mines and petroleum.

PM Abiy also named Kene'a Yadeta to replace former defense minister, Lemma Megersa, to the great surprise of observers. Indeed, Lemma is one of the Prime Minister’s main allies and they are also from the same ethnic group, in a country governed by ethnic federalism.

However, the relationship between the two men deteriorated after Abiy’s decision to merge all ethnic-based parties in the ruling coalition into a single political party, the Welfare Party. This reform was publicly criticized by many of the country's political leaders, including Lemma Megersa.

This announcement comes in a particularly tense political and security context in Ethiopia. The opposition, which wants to oust Abiy Ahmed, has challenged the government's decision to postpone the general elections because of the coronavirus pandemic.
After suffering a regional coup attempt in 2019, the former Nobel Peace Prize winner has promised to hold the first free and fair elections in his country. He is also facing demonstrations triggered by the murder of a popular singer, which left more than 178 people dead in July 2020.

The new appointments also include Yohannes Buayalew who becomes the new director general of the Ethiopian Foreign Relation Strategic Studies Institute (EFRSSI), Nigusu Tilahun who becomes the new commissioner of the Job Creation Commission. Endawek Abte was appointed deputy director general of the Metals Engineering Corporation and Hirut Woldemariam, former minister of higher education, becomes adviser to the prime minister on the social sector.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou