Fact Checks - Page 9 of 43

National Bank Governor Mamo Mihretu’s Misleading Debt-to-GDP Ratio Comparison

Mamo Mihretu, the Governor of the Ethiopian National Bank, in an interview with Fana Broadcasting Corporation Television aired on April 1, 2023, claimed that Ethiopia’s external debt stock is very small in comparison to other countries’ external debt stocks such as Kenya, Sudan, and South Africa.

He said “Ethiopia’s external debt is 28 billion USD. This is only 24% of the [Ethiopian] GDP. This is not a large amount [in comparison with other countries]. For instance, Kenya’s debt amounts to 70% of its GDP, South Africa’s is 70% of its GDP, Sudan’s is 181% of its GDP, and USA’s is over 115% of GDP.”

HaqCheck investigated the claim by the central bank governor, Mamo Mihretu.

The debt-to-GDP ratio or percentage of debt (external, domestic, or total) to GDP is obtained by dividing the debt by the GDP.

Is Ethiopia’s external debt 24% of the GDP?

Yes, it is 24.6% of the GDP.

According to the World Bank, Ethiopia’s GDP at the end of June 2021 was 111.27 billion US dollars.

The annual report of the 2021/22 fiscal year by the National Bank of Ethiopia indicates that Ethiopia’s GDP stood at 5.9 trillion Birr.

The Ethiopian National Bank in its 2021/22 fiscal year report stated that Ethiopia’s external public debt reached USD 27.9 billion which is 24.6% of the GDP [around 113.5 billion USD].

Is Kenya’s external debt 70% of its GDP?

No. It is 33.7% of its GDP.

The World Bank said that Kenya’s GDP at the end of June 2021 was 110.35 billion US dollars.

At the end of June 2021, Kenya’s external public debt was 4,290.7 billion Kenyan Shillings (39 billion USD, calculated using the average exchange rate), which is 50% of the country’s total public debt, according to the Central Bank of Kenya.

Recent reports indicate Kenya’s external debt amounts to 37.87 billion US dollars.

As of June 2022, the external debt of Kenya was 33.7% of its GDP, according to the National Treasury of Kenya. The country’s total public debt is 8.6 trillion Kenyan Shillings which is 67.3% of the GDP.

Thus, Kenya’s external debt does not amount to 70% of its GDP. Rather it is 33.7% of the GDP.

Is South Africa’s external debt 70% of its GDP?

No, it is 39.28% to 40% of the GDP.

South Africa’s external debt stood at 164.6 billion US dollars as of December 2022, according to the South African Reserve Bank, the country’s central bank.

There is no official data from the country’s government on the size of the South Africa’s GDP.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) present two different figures regarding the South African GDP.

The World Bank says South Africa’s GDP was 419.02 billion US dollars in 2021.

The IMF stated that the GDP of South Africa was 411.48 billion US dollars in 2022.

The average between the figures from the World Bank and the IMF is 415.25 billion US dollars.

Thus, the external debt-to-GDP ratio is 39.6% if we calculate it using the average figure.

If we use both figures of the South African GDP, the percentage of the country’s external debt to its GDP is between 39.28 and 40%.

Is Sudan’s external debt 181% of its GDP?

No, it is 150% of the GDP.

The government of Sudan has not published any latest data regarding the country’s size of GDP.

The World Bank said that Sudan’s GDP in 2021 was 34.33 billion US dollars. But the data is old and we can’t use it in calculating the currency external debt-to-GDP ratio.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that the GDP of Sudan as of 2022 was 42.76 billion US dollars.

Sudan’s external debt has reached 64.16 billion US dollars as of June 2022, according to the Central Bank of Sudan.

Therefore, Sudan’s external debt is 150% of its GDP.

The governor of the National Bank of Ethiopia, Mamo Mihretu, MISLEADINGLY compared the external public debt of Ethiopia to the total public debt (domestic+external) of Kenya, South Africa, and Sudan.

The Ethiopian economy and interest rate hikes by Western central banks: Explainer

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) told the parliament on March 28, 2023, that the rising interest rate in the US has had devastating effects on the Ethiopian economy.

Ethiopia has a lot of debt owed to China and international multilateral lenders. Reports indicate that the country has 56 billion dollars in total debt to be paid. Out of the 56 billion, 28 billion were borrowed from external lenders.

The US and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF pledged to provide Ethiopia with billions of dollars for the Homegrown Economic Reform’ initiated by PM Abiy to liberalise and privatise the Ethiopian economy.

The IMF and World Bank promised to give Ethiopia billions of dollars for the Homegrown Economic Reform.

Later on, these pledges were suspended. The World Bank and IMF suspended the disbursement of the pledged billions of dollars after Ethiopia began filling the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in June 2020 and due to the armed conflict in northern Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has since been barred from accessing financial provision from these multilateral financial institutions.

The US government halted hundreds of millions of dollars of budgetary support to Ethiopia in 2020 due to the GERD crisis. Additionally, Ethiopia has been excluded from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference programme because of the war with the TPLF.

Since the wake of the COVID-19 lockdown, countries across the globe have been hit with inflation, mainly due to a shortage of supply (production) because people were off work.

The central banks of many countries have been increasing interest rates to reduce the circulation of money in the market so that inflation could be lowered. The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, has increased interest rates many times since 2022 to bring down inflation to 2%.

In 2022 alone, the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates seven times, raising them from 0.25% in March to 4.50% in December. On March 22, 2023, the Fed raised the interest rate to 4.9%, which is the highest since 2007.

Two weeks ago, the European Central Bank increased the interest rate benchmark to 3%, which is the highest since 2008.

The United Kingdom’s central bank, the Bank of England, raised the interest rate on March 23, 2023, to 4.25%.

Interest rates, particularly in the US and Europe, were very low before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Money was cheap and accessible for borrowers.

The high interest rates in the US and Europe mean that countries like Ethiopia have to borrow dollars or other hard currencies at high interest rates to pay back their debts.

The Ethiopian economy has suffered from a shortage of hard currency. This resulted in sweeping inflation and an economic crisis. The government is desperately seeking foreign loans and financial support.

In addition to getting finances, the Ethiopian government has to deal with the staggering amount of matured debt in the country owed to China and international multilateral creditors.

The Ethiopian government has been asking multilateral and bilateral lenders to restructure the country’s debt. Ethiopia requested the G20 countries and the Paris Club, a group of major creditor countries, make debt adjustments.

Upon Ethiopia’s request, in September 2021, twelve member countries of the G20 and the Paris Club formed a committee co-chaired by China and France to discuss the country’s debt treatment.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy paid a visit to France on Feb 8, 2023, and discussed with Emmanuel Macron, French President about the restructuring of debt.

On Feb 20, 2023, an Ethiopian government delegation that includes Finance Minister Ahmed Shide, Mamo Mihretu, Governor of National Bank of Ethiopia, Lelise Nami, Ethiopian Investment Commissioner, Eyob Tekalegn (PhD), Finance State Minister arrived in China to discuss about debt restructuring, among other things, with Chinese officials.

Since the interest rates are high, it is difficult for developing countries, especially those with huge amounts of matured debt, to easily borrow dollars and pay their debts. Money is only available at high interest rates.

March week four summary

Christian Tadele received 74 million Birr via his CBE account

On March 22, 2015, a Facebook page with more than 136,000 followers posted a screenshot image claiming that Christian Tadele, the public relations head of the National Movement of Amhara (NAMA) and a member of the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives, received 74 million birr through his bank account opened at the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

The post shared a Commercial Bank of Ethiopia account number, alleging that the account belongs to Christian Tadele.

The Facebook post was viral and has received over 300 reactions and has been shared over 50 times.

HaqCheck, however, confirmed that the bank account does not belong to the claimed person and was opened in the name of “The Memory of Artist Hachalu Hundesa.”

False donation collection SMS platform

On March 14, 2015, a Facebook page with more than 12,000 followers posted an SMS number, claiming that donations were being collected for people affected by the drought in Borana through text messaging using the number 655.

The post stated that the initiative was started by Oromo artists, that the number for the donation collection was obtained from Ethio Telecom, and asked others to join the donation campaign.

HaqCheck called the customer service centre of Ethio Telecom to investigate the issue. Hence, Ethio Telecom confirmed that no donation is currently being collected via the SMS number.

A satirically altered image of a Bereket Adera

A Facebook page shared a satirical post claiming that Bereket Adera, a young woman investor, was pictured reading the third “Medemer” book of PM Abiy Ahmed while being turned upside down.

Following PM Abiy Ahmed’s launch of his book titled “Medemer”, the Oromia regional government invited investors and prepared a sales and promotion programme for the book. Bereket Adera attended the programme in which purchases of more than 609 million Birr were made.

There were also claims on social media that the woman investor bought the book for 50,000 euros.

However, the picture was altered and made up by composing various images. HaqCheck found the original image published on the Internet.

Even if the post was satire, such posts have the tendency to mislead many people.

Recommendations

Social media users are advised to exercise caution while viewing possibly fraudulent and untrue posts. Before responding to claims and posts, they ought to seek out more information sources.

HaqCheck urges governmental institutions and other relevant parties to provide updates and clarifications on a timely basis.

We encourage social media content creators to be responsible and refrain from spreading inaccurate or misleading information.

The availability of sufficient information is crucial in the fight against misinformation. Disinformation spreads widely as a result of a lack of information. The government and other organisations should protect the public’s and the media’s right to access information.

March week one summary

Eritrean troops destroying forests in Tigray

HaqCheck came across a Facebook post sharing two images with a claim that Eritrean troops were destroying forests in Adiyabo, a locality in the northwestern zone of Tigray bordered by Eritrea.

The Eritrea Defence Forces, Amhara regional militia, and other armed forces were involved in the war alongside the federal government of Ethiopia against TPLF forces.

The TPLF authorities and media outlets had accused Eritrean troops of atrocities and looting.

Eritrean troops withdrew from major towns in the Tigray regional state and pooled into the border areas after the Ethiopian government and the TPLF signed the peace treaty.

Nonetheless, the TPLF authorities recently stated that Eritrean troops were still in the regional state of Tigray and didn’t fully withdraw.

The claim that Eritrean soldiers were destroying forests in Tigray appeared amid this backdrop.

Yet, the images don’t prove the claim. The first image was posted on March 26, 2019, by Deutsche Welle (DW).

The second picture was published by the BBC News Tigrinya on Mar 27, 2021.

Impersonation of government officials

One of the controversies that appeared in the Ethiopian social media landscape last week was a Twitter account in the name of Alamu Sime, Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics.

The Twitter account which has more than 10 thousand followers makes many controversial comments and posts. But one particular post triggered controversy on social media.

On Mar 3, 2023, the Twitter account wrote, “If you don’t stop the protestation [against the government], you may never see the statue [Menelik II Statue] again.”

The controversial post emerged after a dispute between law enforcement officers and the Adwa Victory Day celebrators broke out on Mar 2, 2023, in Menelik Square.

Nearly 100 thousand users saw the Twitter post and it was shared over two hundred times on the platform.

Later on, it was reported that the Twitter account doesn’t belong to the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Alemu Sime.

Recommendations

HaqCheck recommends social media users be skeptical of unverified social media accounts and the information and post that came out of these accounts.

The impersonated accounts disseminate potentially false and fraudulent information. Social media users should look for additional information and should avoid hasty reactions.

We urge government offices and other institutions to provide the public with timely updates and clarifications.

Social media content creators should also be responsible and refrain from disseminating false disinformation.

False: The images don’t show Eritrean troops destroying forests in Tigray.

On Mar 5, 2023, a Facebook page posted two images claiming that Eritrean troops were destroying forests in Adiyabo, a locality in the northwestern zone of Tigray bordered by Eritrea.

The Facebook page has over a hundred thousand followers and the post was shared twenty-four times at the moment.

However, HaqCheck looked into the images and confirmed that the pictures don’t support the claim. The images were first posted on different websites on Mar 26, 2019, and Mar 27, 2021, respectively.

War broke out between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on Nov 3, 2020.

The Eritrea Defence Forces, Amhara regional militia, and other armed forces were involved in the war alongside the federal government of Ethiopia against TPLF forces.

However, the war came to an end after the two parties signed a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa on Nov 2, 2022. The peace agreement asserts that TPLF forces shall surrender their weapons and foreign and non-ENDF armed forces to leave the regional state of Tigray.

The Ethiopian government and the TPLF agreed that the disarmament of heavy weapons of the TPLF should be done concurrently with the withdrawal of Eritrean and non-ENDF forces from Tigray.

The TPLF authorities and media outlets had accused Eritrean troops of atrocities and looting.

After the Ethiopian government and the TPLF signed the peace treaty, Eritrean soldiers withdrew from major towns in the Tigray regional state and pooled into the border areas.

Yet, the TPLF authorities recently stated that Eritrean troops were still in the regional state of Tigray and didn’t fully withdraw.

Against this backdrop, a Facebook page posted two images on March 5, 2023, claiming that Eritrean soldiers were destroying forests in Adiyabo, a locality north of Shire town.

However, HaqCheck looked into the images and confirmed that the pictures don’t prove the claim.

The images were old and taken from previous publications.

The first image was posted on March 26, 2019, by the DW website to report the incidence of wildfire at Bale National Park.

The second picture was published by the BBC News Tigrinya on Mar 27, 2021, along with a story regarding a bushfire that occurred in Ethiopia.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post as False due to the use of irrelevant pictures.

February 2023: Monthly disinformation analysis

The trend of disinformation across the Ethiopian media landscape

Incidents prompt disinformation

Controversial and false information circulation across the Ethiopian social media landscape follows the events that occurred in the country. Events prompt and provoke false information dissemination.

Most of the false claims that appeared and were debunked by HaqCheck were related to events.

The trend of disinformation across the Ethiopian social and mainstream media landscape increases when incidents related to political and socioeconomic issues happen.

Many false claims, videos, images, and controversies pop up the social media landscapes as soon as incidents are reported. Disinformation dissemination campaigns would be observed.

Below are incidents that occurred and provoked false information circulation during the month of February.

Drought in Oromia and Somali regional states

The Oromia and Somali regional states were hit by a severe drought that had been consecutively happening throughout the last five years.

Particularly the Borana Zone of Oromia was highly affected by drought. The drought exposed eight hundred thousand of residents in the zone to immediate food assistance.

The issue was a major issue of reporting and online discussion. Many social media posts and claims appeared sharing images, videos, and news reports.

The controversy within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

The controversy and schism within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church arose after Abune Sawiros, Archbishop of South West Shoa, along with two archbishops ordained and appointed 26 bishops on Jan 22, 2023, without the recognition of the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Furthermore, the splinter bishops, citing discriminations within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church against the Oromos and Afaan Oromo ad other languages, announced the establishment of ‘The Synod of Oromia and Ethiopian Nations and Nationalities’.

The Church condemned and excommunicated the bishops.

Consequently, conflict and violence emerged shortly afterward. People were killed and injured due to the conflict.

Later on, the breakaway bishops and the Church signed an agreement on Feb 15, 2023, to settle the problem.

Summary of the debunked claims during the month

Below are the false claims that appeared and were debunked in the month of February.

Eritrean troops were still in Tigray

A Facebook post emerged on Feb 3, 2023, sharing an image with a claim that Eritrean soldiers had not fully withdrawn and were still in northeastern parts of Tigray.

The post used an old image previously published in 2021.

Celebration over the appointment of new bishops in Oromia

A Facebook page shared three images on Jan 27, 2023, claiming that residents of many towns in the Oromia region were celebrating the appointment of new bishops.

The images were taken from a YouTube video published in February 2020.

A church destroyed in Tigray during the war

On Feb 6, 2023, a Facebook post shared an image claiming that the picture shows a church destroyed in Tigray during the war between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces.

The image really shows a church destroyed in the town of Adi Keyh, Eritrea during the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The picture was taken from a video published by Reuters in April 1999.

Weapons found at an Orthodox church in Shashemene

A claim appeared on Facebook sharing an image that smuggled weapons were found inside the premises of an Orthodox Church in Shashemene.

The same image was previously shared on Facebook on Mar 15, 2021, with a description that the Ethiopian Federal Police seized illicit weapons and ammunition in the Sidama regional state.

Smuggled weapons discovered at Abune Abraham’s house

A Twitter post shared three images with a claim that illegal rifles and ammunition were discovered in the house of Abune Abraham, Archbishop of Bahir Dar and head of the Patriarchate Office of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The post claimed that police retrieved five Kalashnikov rifles with 235 bullets during a search.

The first image was published on a website that advertises luxury hotels in Addis Ababa. The second picture was published by a news site on September 30, 2020, in a report that India signed a deal with Russia to procure 770,000 Kalashnikov rifles.

Illicit weapons uncovered at the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader in Jimma

A Facebook page with over 290 thousand followers shared three images claiming that illegal weapons were found at the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader in Jimma. The first image shows rifles, the second ammunition, and the third is a photo of a person.

However, the images were taken from old publications. The first picture which shows rifles was published on Oct 30, 2019, by the BBC Afaan Oromo along with a news story that the Ethiopian Customs Commision seized illicit weapons.

The second image which shows ammunition was taken from a news article published on Oct 7, 2021, by a local media outlet. The news states that illegal weapons were retrieved in the Addis Ketema district of Addis Ababa.

Recommendations

Haqcheck urges social media users to be skeptical of potentially misleading and fraudulent posts. They should look for additional sources of information before reacting to claims and posts.

We advise public institutions and other concerned entities to give information on a timely basis and clarifications. They should act before damages occur.

Social media content creators are recommended to be responsible and avoid disseminating false and misleading information.

The realization of access to information is the key to combatting disinformation. The lack of information prompts disinformation circulation at a great scale. Government and other organizations work to secure the right of citizens and the media to get access to information.

False: The image doesn’t show an ongoing drought in Ethiopia

On Feb 23, 2023, a Twitter account posted an image claiming that it shows an ongoing drought in Borana, Oromia regional state. The image depicts several carcasses.

The Twitter post was seen over two thousand times and was shared more than fifty times.

However, HaqCheck confirmed that the image doesn’t show the ongoing drought in Borana, Oromia. Thus, the post was rated False due to the application of an inaccurate picture.

Reports indicate that many areas in the Oromia and Somali regional states of Ethiopia have been hit by severe drought. The drought has endured for more than five consecutive years now. A severe drought has decimated the Borana Zone of the Oromia region.

The eastern and southern parts of the Oromia region particularly the Borana Zone was highly affected by drought during the previous years. Last year, thousands of children, women, and elderly people faced severe health problems such as malnutrition and thousands of cattle died due to the drought.

The enduring drought has been caused by climate change followed by an acute shortage of rainfall in the areas. Climate change resulted in land degradation and significant depletion of pasture in Borana.

The drought exposed eight hundred thousand residents in the zone to an immediate food assistance.

The people in the eastern parts of Ethiopia such as Borana are pastoralists and semi-pastoralists and their lives depend on the availability of pastures for cattle. The absence of rainfall for five subsequent years has devastated the livelihood of the communities of Borana.

Against this backdrop, a Twitter post came out sharing an image that depicts carcasses lying on the ground with a claim that the picture shows an ongoing drought in the Borana zone of the Oromia regional state.

However, the image is old and doesn’t show a current drought in Borana. The picture first appeared on Facebook on Mar 18, 2022, describing that the Bale and Borana zones of the Oromia region were severely affected by the drought.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post False because of its employment of an inaccurate image to support the claim.

February week three summary

The controversies HaqCheck observed surfacing the Ethiopian social media landscape were related to the schism within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Controversies arose regarding how the problem was solved and the status of the breakaway synod led by Abune Sawiros. Reports and claims that the breakaway bishops apologized to the Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church while others stated that the bishops had not apologized and the matter was settled through negotiation.

HaqCheck looked into the issue that how was the controversy within the Church settled and what the statements of the deal were signed to solve the schism.

The Background

On Jan 22, 2023, Abune Sawiros, Archbishop of South West Shoa, ordained and appointed 26 bishops without the recognition of the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.

Seventy bishops nominated by Abune Sawiros have been assigned to dioceses in the Oromia regional state.

The breakaway bishops led by Abune Sawiros announced they established the ‘Synod of Oromia and Ethiopian Nations and Nationalities’.

The breakaway bishops cited discriminations within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church against the Oromos and Afaan Oromo language for the establishment of their synod.

This arose intense controversy and tension within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s Synod immediately convened about the issue and denounced the bishops who participated in the appointment of the breakaway episcopate. The synod excommunicated Abune Sawiros and other bishops for ‘violating the church’s canonical orders’.

A few days later, the breakaway archbishops responded by condemning and excommunicating twelve Ethiopian Orthodox Church archbishops.

On Feb 15, 2023, the breakaway bishops and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Synod signed an agreement to settle the problem. An agreement was reached with the mediation of the Ethiopian government and the pact was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.).

Terms of the agreement

The bishops agreed to use of Afaan Oromoo language in all churches across Oromia.

They also agreed to allocate a budget for the enhancement of the use of the Afaan Oromo Language and expand the human resources in the Oromia regional state so that clergies who speak the language could be dispatched.

The deal states that the Church agreed to open universities and colleges that teach theology in Afaan Oromo, to appoint bishops who speak the language of Oromia dioceses.

The breakaway bishops held a meeting after the deal was signed and stated that they accept the agreement. They stated that they didn’t violate the canonical law of the Church when they ordain bishops and form a synod a month earlier.

The Church gave a briefing that the breakaway bishops were still violating the laws of the Church even after the deal was signed.

A day later, they both announced that they would comply with the agreement signed on Feb 15, 2023.

Recommendations

We recommend social media users be cautious of potentially misleading and fraudulent posts and look for additional sources of information before reacting.

Public offices are urged to provide sufficient and timely information about current events and issues. The media and the public should enjoy the right to access information.

HaqCheck urges social media content creators to be responsible and refrain from becoming agents of disinformation.

February week two summary

The false claims and controversies during the week were regarding the schism within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and related conflict.

HaqCheck observed that the trend of disinformation had intensified during the week. Many false images were shared to support claims. Most of the claims accompanied by false images and debunked by HaqCheck were regarding the holding and discovery of smuggled weapons at Church leaders’ houses.

Below are the claims HaqCheck debunked in the second week of February 2023.

A church destroyed in Tigray during the war

On Feb 6, 2023, a Facebook post shared an image claiming that the picture shows a church destroyed in Tigray during the war between the Ethiopian government and TPLF forces. The Facebook claim alleged that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church was a collaborator when churches were destroyed in Tigray during the war.

Days after the war broke out between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church expressed its support for the Ethiopian armed forces on Nov 17, 2020.

News reports indicate that churches were damaged in Tigray regional state during the armed conflict.

The Facebook post emerged amid intense tension within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church after Abune Sawiros, Archbishop of South West Shoa, ordained and appointed 26 bishops without the recognition of the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church on Jan 22, 2023.

Yet, HaqCheck confirmed that the image was old and doesn’t support the claim that it shows a church destroyed in Tigray during the recent war.

The image shows a church destroyed in the town of Adi Keyh, Eritrea during the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. The picture was taken from a video published by Reuters in April 1999.

Weapons found at an Orthodox church in Shashemene

HaqCheck came across a Facebook post sharing an image with a claim that smuggled weapons were found inside the premises of an Orthodox Church in Shashemene.

However, the picture was old and published two years ago. The image was previously shared on Facebook on Mar 15, 2021. It was shared with a description that the Ethiopian Federal Police seized illicit weapons and ammunition in the Sidama regional state.

Smuggled weapons discovered at Abune Abraham’s house

A viral Twitter post appeared on Feb 5, 2023, sharing three images with a claim that illegal rifles and ammunition were discovered in the house of Abune Abraham, Archbishop of Bahir Dar and head of the Patriarchate Office of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The post claimed that police retrieved five Kalashnikov rifles with 235 bullets during a search.

However, the pictures were old and don’t support the claim. The first image was published on a website that advertises luxury hotels in Addis Ababa. The website claims that the image is of a hotel in Bole named Sheger Royal.

The second picture was published by a news site on September 30, 2020, in a report that India signed a deal with Russia to procure 770,000 Kalashnikov rifles. The third image shows Abune Abraham.

HaqCheck rated the claim as False.

Illicit weapons uncovered at the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader in Jimma

A Facebook page with over 290 thousand followers shared three images on Feb 7, 2023, claiming that illegal weapons were found at the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader in Jimma. The first image shows rifles, the second ammunition, and the third is a photo of a person.

The post claimed that the person in the photograph is the deputy chairman of the parish council of a local church in Jimma and head of the Jimma branch of Mahbere Kidusan, a religious association within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.

Recommendations

HaqCheck advises social media users to be cautious incase they encounter potentially misleading posts. They should quest sufficient and accurate information before reacting to claims and posts.

Public offices and other institutions are urged to provide the media and the general public with sufficient and timely updates regarding ongoing public matters.

The government and other relevant organizations should work towards the realization of the right of citizens and the media to access information.

Social media content creators should be responsible and refrain from making and disseminating false and misleading information.

False: The image doesn’t show weapons found at the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader in Jimma

On Feb 7, 2023, a Facebook page with over 290 thousand followers shared three images with a claim that weapons were found in the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader in Jimma. The first image shows rifles, the second ammunition, and the third is a photo of a person.

The post claimed that the person in the photograph is the deputy chairman of the parish council of a church in Jimma and head of the Jimma branch of Mahbere Kidusan, a religious association within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.

The Facebook post went viral and attained over four hundred engagements on the platform.

However, the images were old and don’t prove the claim. Thus, HaqCheck rendered the claim False.

On Jan 22, 2023, former archbishops of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church appointed bishops without the recognition of the synod of the church.

Abune Sawiros, Archbishop of South West Shoa, and two others ordained 26 episcopates in Oromia and southern parts of the country. Seventy bishops nominated by Abune Sawiros have been assigned to dioceses in the Oromia regional state.

A few days later, the breakaway archbishops responded by condemning and excommunicating twelve Ethiopian Orthodox Church archbishops.

Against this backdrop, on Feb 7, 2023, a Facebook post appeared sharing three pictures with a claim that smuggled weapons were found in the house of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader who is the deputy chairman of the parish council of a church in Jimma and head of the Jimma branch of Mahbere Kidusanin.

The first two images which were presented as proof of the claim show rifles and ammunition and the third picture is a photograph of a person.

The first picture which shows rifles was published on Oct 30, 2019, by the BBC Afaan Oromo along with a news story that the Ethiopian Customs Commision seized illicit weapons.

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linkTherefore, HaqCheck rated the post as False.