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NDERITU: Ethiopia’s chicken and egg: Ethnicity or citizenship?

Oromo youth chant slogans during a protest in-front of Jawar MohammedÕs house, an Oromo activist and leader of the Oromo protest in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on October 24, 2019. PHOTO | REUTERS

By  ALICE WAIRIMU NDERITU

Contributor

Does the 1995 ethnic federal constitution hinder Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed by entrenching ethnicity as an identity right from the preamble and demarcating states on ethnicity rather than geography? Last week, I argued it was partly responsible for the mushrooming of ethnic-based political parties, militias and even banks.

Liban Guyo engaged me in a lively discussion stating that the Ethiopian Constitution was crafted to accommodate demands for regional autonomy while managing inter-ethnic tensions.

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