By MFC Staff

Claim: A social media influencer with the name Gumaa Saqqataa Gem claimed that General Kassaye Chemeda, former member of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), has been included into the National Dialogue Commission (NDC). The post claimed that the inclusion of General Kassaye shows a “disrespect to the people”.  

Verdict: Misleading 

A Facebook account by the name Gumaa Saqqataa Gem, which has over 109,281 followers, posted a content claiming that General Kassaye Chemeda, a former ENDF member whose face is circled in the picture with yellow colour, was among the Commissioners of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (NDC). The content was published along with a picture of the NDC Commissioners and other high officials and the claim received over 1200 likes, over 224 comments, and over 104 shares. Similar claims were also posted on Tigray Tribune and Tigray Today/ትግራይ ቱደይ, pages that have hundreds of thousands of followers. 

The claim from Gumaa Saqqataa Gem reads: Nothing is disrespectful than including Kassaye Chemeda into the National Dialogue Commission, who supported ENDF over the War in Tigray asserting “crack them down, smash them down”.

However, after assessing the information provided on the Website of NDC and speaking to one of the Commissioners on a phone call, the MFC found that Chemeda is not among the Commissioners.

Thus, looking into the list of the Commissioners and confirming via phone call, MFC established that the claimed person is neither among the Commissioners of the National Dialogue Commission nor part of its staff members.

The supposed photo of the claim was found to be taken during the launching of the agenda setting event of the NDC in Addis Ababa and Chemeda was among the participants representing parts of the community of the city dwellers.

Therefore, MFC renders that both the text and the picture of the claim were taken out of context and found to be misleading.

Context 

The Ethiopian National Dialogue (END) was established in December 2021 with an autonomous stance as part of Ethiopia’s peace initiatives. It has aimed at bringing major controversial national issues to the dialogue table, which have been at the core of dispute and conflict in the country. Right from its establishment, the NDC has been criticized for its lack of transparency, including the process of selecting the Commissioners. Thus, over 11 opposition parties, including the two major Oromo oppositions – the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and the Oromo Federalist Congress (OFC) – have boycotted participating in the dialogue. 

Regardless of the lack of public trust and amidst the conflict in the Amhara and Oromia regional states, where armed insurgencies have been tense, the NDC continued its work. Although it lagged behind its schedule on the selection of representatives from parts of the community, it has now officially reached the phase of agenda setting. It was on the launching of this agenda setting event that General Kassaye Chemeda was seen. Chemeda is known for his strong critique against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and he was active supporter of Abiy’s war campaign against TPLF in Tigray.