It appears Ethiopia almost lost a leader to a mysterious illness for a second time. Abiy Ahmed disappeared from public for five weeks and change. The last time he was on camera—until last night, was on Dec. 22, 2020, when he led a panel discussion in Benishangul-Gumuz. Demeke Mekonnen who juggles multiple positions in Abiy’s Government has been covering for him. Mr. Mekonnen holds the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister positions. Dude is like a ninja. Had human cloning been ethical, he would have had the honor. Given Mr. Ahmed’s affinity for cameras and his pompous personality, his disappearance is highly suspicious.
As you may recall, Meles Zenawi died of an unknown illness in one of Europe’s hospitals. No one knows what Mr. Zenawi died of. Perhaps Glioblastoma Multiforme? Or Pancreatic Cancer? Ruptured Brain Aneurysm? We will never know. But Abebe Gelaw would like to take credit for Zenawi’s death. Imagine if that moron had the power to kill people just by yelling at them. He would have killed all the 50 million Oromo. The bottom line, Ethiopian leaders hide their illnesses and their whereabouts for fear of a coup.
It’s no secret that Abiy Ahmed loves the camera, as if leadership is all about posing for a photoshoot. That’s called modeling—ask any 17-year-old girl who posts duckface photos on Snapchat. For the guy who believed and decided leadership is all about imagery and charisma, avoiding the spotlight for five weeks is unimaginable.
We are not making this claims out of thin air either. Besides his disappearance, some other circumstances made us believe Abiy Ahmed was gravely ill. Recently an aviation hobbyist spotted a specialized aircraft take unusual routes. Twitter user, @Gerjon_ tweeted an Air Ambulance operated by Germany’s FAI Aviation Group has left Addis Ababa and headed for Europe. The Tweep also added the same aircraft arrived in Addis Ababa a day earlier. @Gerjon_ followed up with a tweet that said the aircraft landed in Bologna, Italy.
The tweet from the self-proclaimed Aircraft Tracker and Analyst also coincided with rumors about an assassination attempt on Abiy Ahmed. A Facebook troll who goes by the name Seyoum Teshome warned of Qeerroo (Oromo Youth) invading Addis Ababa. Minutes later, he deleted his Facebook post and apologized for the misinformation. The order to delete may have come from Arat Kilo. Perhaps the leaders of National Movement of Amhara (ultra nationalist wing of Amhara) heard about Abiy Ahmed getting loaded up to an Air Ambulance and couldn’t contain their excitement. Most of them declared, “it’s time,” perhaps signaling their intention to seize power.
After weeks of speculation about his whereabouts, on Jan. 28, 2021, Abiy Ahmed reappeared in photos, that appeared to be taken at night at St. Paul Hospital. It turns out, @Gerjon_ tweeted another Air Ambulance visited Addis Ababa about or on Monday, Jan. 25, 2021, this time from Europe. I won’t blame you if you thought it brought Abiy Ahmed back. Thank goodness for the nerds—they didn’t get the girls in high school, but for sure they are helping us and the girls understand the complicated world of ours.
The fact that he appeared in a hospital’s physiotherapy department makes you think health care issue is on his mind. Or, he just got discharged from the hospital and went on camera. He likely got a world class COVID treatments like monoclonal antibody cocktail infusion on Ethiopians’ ሣንቲም.
Ethiopians deserve to know whether Abiy Ahmed was sick and how much did it cost them to take him to Bologna and back. He gets to spend tons of dollars to save his own life, but children in Tigray are starving to death. His manufactured crises in Tigray could lead to Ethiopia’s unraveling.
The Cost:
According to National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the average air ambulance trip is 52 miles and costs between $12,000 and $25,000 per flight.
The flight distance between Addis Ababa and Bologna, Italy is 3,745 miles.
Assuming Abiy Ahmed was on flights IFA1018 and IFA1024, the flight distance covered is 7,490 miles.
Divide the distance covered by the average air ambulance trip (52 miles): 7,490 miles/52 miles = 144.
Multiply the ratio by the estimated cost:
$12,000 x 144 = $1,728,000
$25,000 x 144 = $3,600,000
So, Abiy Ahmed may have spent anywhere between $1,728,000 and $3,600,00.
If it were in the Western World, the press would be all over the story of Abiy’s disappearance. The press would sue to get the information out, and judges would make sure the information gets out.
Don’t you wonder how many Tigaru kids can $3,600,000 feed?
