On Feb 5, 2023, a Twitter account posted three images claiming illegal rifles and ammunition were discovered in the house of Abune Abraham, Archbishop of Bahir Dar and head of the Patriarchate Office. The post claimed that five Kalashnikov rifles with 235 bullets were retrieved during a police search.
The Twitter post was shared close to one hundred times and was viewed by more than twenty thousand users on the platform.
However, HaqCheck looked into the images and confirmed that they don’t support the claim. Thus, the post was rendered 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.
The breakaway bishops led by Abune Sawiros announced they established the ‘Synod of Oromia and Ethiopian Nations and Nationalities’.
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.
Abune Abraham, Archbishop of Bahr Dar diocese and head of the Patriarchate Office of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was among the bishops counter-excommunicated by the breakaway episcopates.
It was in this context a Twitter post emerged on Feb 5, 2023, sharing three images supporting a claim that illegal weapons and ammunition were found at the house of Abune Abraham, Archbishop of Bahir Dar diocese and head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Orthodox Church Patriarchate Office. The post stated that five Kalashnikov rifles with 235 bullets were discovered.
However, HaqCheck looked into the images and confirmed that 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 previously published by a news site on Sep 30, 2020, in a report that India signed a deal with Russia to procure 770,000 Kalashnikov rifles.
The third image is a picture of Abune Abraham.
Therefore, HaqCheck rated the post as False.
