The Conflicting Legacy of Getachew Reda

From politics to war, his impact inspires both praise and anger.

In Ethiopian politics, definitive praise is often a posthumous gift. Critics become eulogists, and contentious legacies are smoothed into consensus, as seen in the national mourning that followed the 2012 death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

This makes Getachew Reda a rare and revealing subject: a living politician who commands not posthumous acclaim, but fierce, simultaneous admiration and condemnation. He is a figure defined not by a settled legacy, but by ongoing conflict.

I write about him now not as an obituary, but as a reflection on this conflict. For over a decade, and especially since Meles’s death, Getachew has been—besides Tedros Adhanom of the WHO—the Tigrayan figure most capable of drawing a mass audience, a skill he has wielded to both inspire and divide.

Academic Footprint

I first encountered Getachew during my university years in the early 2000s. His reputation has often been buoyed by unverified claims, including the suggestion that his lectures attracted students from unrelated departments, an account that strains credibility.

Admirers have also cast him as an avid reader, a description I take with a pinch of salt. His real gift lay in oratory and linguistic dexterity, not in an academic record that invites glorification.

As a law student at Mekelle University, I attended some of his courses. Young and already notorious for skipping lectures, he rarely arrived on time, and consecutive appearances were uncommon. If he showed up on a Monday, he might not return for a week.

This, it should be said, was hardly unique to Getachew. Chronic absenteeism was widespread among lecturers at the time, including the dean.

His negligence, however, extended beyond missed lectures. On one occasion, he failed to appear to administer a final exam or even share the questions to colleagues, leaving bewildered students stranded in the exam hall. The episode captured the carelessness that marked his brief academic career.

He was ultimately dismissed from the university for this and other disciplinary reasons. He then moved to Addis Ababa, where he began navigating political circles before securing a post at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007.

His research record is strikingly thin. Given his legal training and early career in academia, one might have expected a body of legal scholarship from someone who later became a dominant figure in Ethiopian politics.

Instead, almost nothing of substance can be attributed to him beyond occasional magazine pieces, political in tone rather than academic.

Thus Getachew’s legacy lies not in academia but in politics, communication, and provocative remarks. His reputation was built on oratory and political maneuvering, not on scholarly contribution.

Political Rise

Dismissed from Mekelle University, Getachew turned to politics, a realm that would define his career, far beyond the obscurity of academia.

He entered the political scene in 2007 as a researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quickly rising to senior roles within the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

Over the years, he served as Minister of Government Communications, spokesperson and adviser to Tigray’s former president Debretsion Gebremichael, and member of the TPLF politburo, remaining until his controversial expulsion in 2025.

Admired for his communication skills, Getachew was equally notorious for his controversial remarks. He drew widespread criticism when he described leaders of the Oromo student movement as “አጋንንት” (“demons”), a remark that fueled public anger and contributed to the EPRDF’s decline.

Much of his career was spent justifying controversial policies. He dismissed international human rights reports on the 2016 Oromo protests as “plucked out of thin air” and championed Ethiopia’s 2009 anti-terrorism law, later used to detain activists with no links to terrorism. Despite his legal background, he uncritically justified the law across media outlets.

In the 2015 general election, after the EPRDF claimed a near-unanimous victory, he defended the results as legitimate despite allegations of manipulation and intimidation, and also endorsed the 2016 state of emergency amid mounting unrest.

After the TPLF’s withdrawal to Tigray, his controversial positions continued. He defended the disputed 2020 regional election, held in defiance of federal prohibitions, a move that triggered the devastating two-year war.

At times, his communication became a tool of suppression, used to undermine free speech and independent media. To this day, he has offered no sincere apology for his role in eroding democratic freedoms.

Interim Leadership

Despite senior roles in the party and government, Getachew has admitted that he was never accepted into the TPLF’s inner circle, a factor that ultimately led to his expulsion from Tigray by his own comrades.

His appointment as head of the Tigray Interim Administration by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed provoked swift resistance from the TPLF leadership. By his account, the party was uncertain how to deal with him. They tolerated his role as spokesperson, particularly after Meles Zenawi’s death, but the idea of him leading the region was intolerable.

Hardliners worked tirelessly to undermine his two-year tenure, casting suspicion on his role in the Pretoria Agreement. He maintains that they “sabotaged both the agreement and the interim administration.”

With support from rebellious military elements, they blocked his public meetings in Shire, Axum, and elsewhere. Ultimately, he was expelled and forced to flee after the army attempted to arrest him.

Before his ouster, Getachew enjoyed significant popular support, with youth, opposition groups, and large segments of the population organizing mass demonstrations across Tigray.

Yet he failed to capitalize on this momentum, opting to appease hardliners rather than push for radical change. In doing so, opportunities to transform Tigray’s politics slipped away.

By contrast, Abiy Ahmed, upon taking power in 2018, swiftly dismantled the formidable TPLF network. Getachew hesitated until the final moment, narrowly evading an attempt on his life.

History may remember him as a man who squandered a generational opportunity to democratize Tigray and dismantle the TPLF’s military-based dominance.

Yet his tenure revealed important truths, exposing the TPLF’s inner circle and its fragile popular base. For decades, many assumed the party enjoyed broad support, but his presidency showed that its power rested on military backing rather than popular legitimacy.

Moreover, Getachew openly described the TPLF as a “criminal network”, a claim that carries weight coming from someone who led Tigray for two years.

Costly Slips

The years 2020 to 2022 marked the darkest chapter in Tigray’s history. A brutal war brought widespread destruction and loss of life. With communications severed, Tigray needed a voice to convey its plight.

In this vacuum, Getachew’s communication skills proved indispensable, inspiring both domestic and international audiences. His posts and interviews helped mobilize the youth into makeshift military camps, helping form a fighting force against federal, Eritrean, and allied forces accused of mass killings and rape.

Yet his influence was controversial. While he inspired resistance, his inflammatory remarks provoked backlash. He once declared, “ሂሳብ እናወራርዳለን” (“we have a score to settle with”), a statement seized upon by opponents and costly to Tigrayan advances on the capital.

After the Pretoria Peace Agreement, his rhetoric remained consequential. Declaring that Tigray would become a nation “no matter what” drew unnecessary diplomatic scrutiny. He had made similar remarks in 2021, describing an independent Tigrayan state as “the best option.”

While many Tigrayans value self-determination deeply, Getachew appeared to wield these sentiments as political tools rather than genuine commitments; his recent silence on independence suggests limited personal conviction.

Getachew’s relationship with Abiy is fraught with contradictions. In 2018, he backed Abiy’s rise and rapprochement with Eritrea. During the war, he became one of his fiercest critics, calling him “childish,” “ignorant,” and even “genocidal.”

Now, paradoxically, he works alongside the same man, casting doubt on his claims to principle or pragmatism. While sympathy followed his expulsion from Tigray, his alignment with Abiy provoked dismay.

In a recent Al Jazeera interview, he acknowledged that genocide occurred in Tigray but deflected when asked about Abiy’s direct involvement. The evasiveness drew widespread criticism, reinforcing perceptions that he lacks conviction in defending Tigray’s pursuit of justice.

His subsequent actions have also placed him in awkward positions. During a recent visit to Humera, he met with individuals accused of mass atrocities against Tigrayans, a move that sparked outrage.

He defended it as a necessary step to facilitate the return of Welkait to Tigray, claiming federal agreement, but the other party’s rejection of his account further undermined his credibility.

History suggests Getachew’s alliance with Abiy is likely short-lived. Abiy has sidelined allies. Jawar Mohammed, Lemma Megersa, Andargachew Tsige, and Gedu Andargachew all lost influence once their usefulness waned. Getachew is unlikely to be an exception.

His future remains precarious: imprisonment on trumped-up charges, another narrow escape, or worse all loom. Given his trajectory, his only realistic hope may be to leave Ethiopia before it is too late.

Redemption Path

Getachew Reda’s legacy resists easy judgment. His career is defined by sharp contrasts: loyalty and pragmatism, inspiration and controversy, bold leadership and missed opportunity. In the end, his story is less about labels and more about the fragile and contested paths of power in Tigray and Ethiopia.

Calling him a traitor for leaving Tigray would be premature; TPLF hardliners effectively denied him the possibility of living there in safety.

His escape may even be a blessing: he now has insights into the TPLF’s inner circle and possible war crimes, and could serve as a witness when accountability is pursued.

The TPLF propaganda apparatus has worked tirelessly to discredit him for cooperating with Abiy Ahmed. Media outlets such as Zara Media Network and Dedebit Media Network, believed to be TPLF-sponsored, have sought to destroy his credibility.

Yet they were silent when Debretsion unsuccessfully sought Abiy’s support to become interim president. This selective outrage exposes much of the party’s messaging as propaganda.

Still, Getachew’s choices are not without fault. His collaboration with Abiy has alienated many Tigrayans, including those opposed to all TPLF factions.

Having escaped Tigray, he could have challenged both Abiy and the TPLF from abroad, potentially gaining wider backing. His decision to side with a regime many condemn as genocidal, however, split opinion and weakened his credibility.

Yet a path to redemption remains. Severing ties with Abiy’s regime and leading a political struggle from abroad could allow him to rebuild trust and reposition himself as a figure of unity rather than division.

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While this commentary contains the author’s opinions, Ethiopia Insight will correct factual errors.

Main photo: An image of Getachew Reda displayed on the back of a vehicle during a protest in support of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration, Adigrat, Tigray, September 2024. Source: social media.

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