Waqo Gutu
Encyclopedia
General Waqo Gutu was an Ethiopia
n rebel figure, leader of the United Liberation Forces of Oromia (ULFO) since the 1960s in the Bale Province
in southern Ethiopia
. The General had been elected chairman of ULFO in 2000.http://www.oromia.org/News/news0928200a.htm He died in Nairobi West Hospital, survived by 20 sons and 17 daughters.
and the regimes that followed the monarch’s ouster and murder. Assessments of Wako Gutu vary greatly over his role as "founder" of Oromo separatism. However, according to historians, Waku Gutu was ideologically and militarily trained by Somalis to initiate the Oromo separatism movement.
According to Faano Shuundhee and Morkata Boru, Oromo community leaders in Nairobi, General Waqo Gutu as he was known was a symbol of Oromo resistance and initiator of their right to self determination. According to Oromo accounts Gutu sowed the first seeds of rebellion in 1943 by acquiring arms to commence the struggle against Haile Selassie, and touched off a political and military struggle that lasted decades. He fired the first shot in 1958 by slaying two policemen and together with Abdullai Usman Gutu proceeded to the jungle in 1962 to widen an armed resistance against Haile Selassie’s land policies in what is now Oromia Region
, where most Oromo
live. The next year, he attacked the Dhombirka battalion of the imperial army, inflicting heavy casualties.
His role in starting the Bale revolt was almost accidental, according to one source. When a conflict over grazing rights between two groups of Oromo was ignored by the central government, after waiting in vain for three months Waqo Gutu "went to Somalia and brought back 42 rifles and two Thompson submachine guns." Waqo's journey took place early in 1965; the revolt itself had been raging since June 1963 when Kahin Abdi openly defied the government in Afder
. An ill-timed attempt by the government to collect unpaid taxes from local peasants fanned the flames. At the end of 1966, about three-fifths of Bale Province
was in turmoil. This peasant revolt ran from 1964 to 1970, stemming from issues involving land, taxation, class, and religion. Waqo Gutu surrrendered to the Ethiopian government 27 March 1970. The cost of the rebellion was minimal to him; he was given a villa in Addis Ababa and treated well by the Emperor. The local Oromo peasants lost tens of thousands of hectares, which was redistributed to Christian settlers who had fought against the rebels.
With the eruption of the Ethiopian revolution, Waqo returned to Bale, and between 1975 and 1991, his guerillas controlled several towns in Oromia. He also visited several countries, including Somalia to raise funds with which to arm and galvanise the struggle.
In 1989 he established the United Oromo People Liberation Front (UOPLF) to join the struggle against the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam
. He joined the victorious Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
(TPLF) of Meles Zenawi which had ousted Mengistu, but Waqo left the transitional government talks in 1992, claiming he had been betrayed by the TPLF.
In 2000 he formed the ULFO to unite the disparate armed and political groups fighting for the right to self determination of the Oromo, and led as chairman from 2002 until he was taken ill and flown to Nairobi where he died after three months' hospitalisation. He was buried 11 February in his birthplace in the Bale Zone
.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n rebel figure, leader of the United Liberation Forces of Oromia (ULFO) since the 1960s in the Bale Province
Bale Province, Ethiopia
Bale is the name of two former polities located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia.- The medieval dependency of Bale :...
in southern Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
. The General had been elected chairman of ULFO in 2000.http://www.oromia.org/News/news0928200a.htm He died in Nairobi West Hospital, survived by 20 sons and 17 daughters.
Life
Little is known about his early schooling or ideological basis for his rebellion against Emperor Haile SelassieHaile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
and the regimes that followed the monarch’s ouster and murder. Assessments of Wako Gutu vary greatly over his role as "founder" of Oromo separatism. However, according to historians, Waku Gutu was ideologically and militarily trained by Somalis to initiate the Oromo separatism movement.
According to Faano Shuundhee and Morkata Boru, Oromo community leaders in Nairobi, General Waqo Gutu as he was known was a symbol of Oromo resistance and initiator of their right to self determination. According to Oromo accounts Gutu sowed the first seeds of rebellion in 1943 by acquiring arms to commence the struggle against Haile Selassie, and touched off a political and military struggle that lasted decades. He fired the first shot in 1958 by slaying two policemen and together with Abdullai Usman Gutu proceeded to the jungle in 1962 to widen an armed resistance against Haile Selassie’s land policies in what is now Oromia Region
Oromia Region
Oromia is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia...
, where most Oromo
Oromo people
The Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
live. The next year, he attacked the Dhombirka battalion of the imperial army, inflicting heavy casualties.
His role in starting the Bale revolt was almost accidental, according to one source. When a conflict over grazing rights between two groups of Oromo was ignored by the central government, after waiting in vain for three months Waqo Gutu "went to Somalia and brought back 42 rifles and two Thompson submachine guns." Waqo's journey took place early in 1965; the revolt itself had been raging since June 1963 when Kahin Abdi openly defied the government in Afder
Afder (woreda)
Afder is one of the 67 woredas in the Somali Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Afder Zone, Afder is bordered on the south by Dolobay, on the west by Cherti, on the north by Elekere, on the northwest by Mirab Imi, and on the east by Bare. Towns in Afder include Guda Asbo and Hargele.- History :Afder...
. An ill-timed attempt by the government to collect unpaid taxes from local peasants fanned the flames. At the end of 1966, about three-fifths of Bale Province
Bale Province, Ethiopia
Bale is the name of two former polities located in the southeastern part of modern Ethiopia.- The medieval dependency of Bale :...
was in turmoil. This peasant revolt ran from 1964 to 1970, stemming from issues involving land, taxation, class, and religion. Waqo Gutu surrrendered to the Ethiopian government 27 March 1970. The cost of the rebellion was minimal to him; he was given a villa in Addis Ababa and treated well by the Emperor. The local Oromo peasants lost tens of thousands of hectares, which was redistributed to Christian settlers who had fought against the rebels.
With the eruption of the Ethiopian revolution, Waqo returned to Bale, and between 1975 and 1991, his guerillas controlled several towns in Oromia. He also visited several countries, including Somalia to raise funds with which to arm and galvanise the struggle.
In 1989 he established the United Oromo People Liberation Front (UOPLF) to join the struggle against the dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam
Mengistu Haile Mariam is a politician who was formerly the most prominent officer of the Derg, the Communist military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the President of the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia from 1987 to 1991...
. He joined the victorious Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
Tigrayan People's Liberation Front
The Tigrayan People's Liberation Front , known more commonly and sometimes pejoratively in Ethiopia as Woyane or Weyane is a political party in Ethiopia...
(TPLF) of Meles Zenawi which had ousted Mengistu, but Waqo left the transitional government talks in 1992, claiming he had been betrayed by the TPLF.
In 2000 he formed the ULFO to unite the disparate armed and political groups fighting for the right to self determination of the Oromo, and led as chairman from 2002 until he was taken ill and flown to Nairobi where he died after three months' hospitalisation. He was buried 11 February in his birthplace in the Bale Zone
Bale Zone
Bale is one of the 17 zones in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Bale is named for the former kingdom of Bale, which was in approximately the same area...
.