It was made in a terse statement: “Prime Minister Zenawi suddenly passed away last night. Meles was recovering in a hospital overseas for the past two months but died of a sudden infection at 11:40 (on Monday night).” Though it did not divulge much in the way of words, the announcement revealed more in what is between the lines. So, it was true that he was seriously ill and was being treated in a hospital outside Ethiopia. And not on vacation at a location within the country as the government spokesperson had said in response to the rumours around his months-long absence from the public.
Since early July, there had been varying reports whether he was abroad for treatment or somewhere in the country. The government’s attempts to pour cold water on questions about the Prime Minister only seemed to add more fuel to the fire. Eyebrows were raised even higher when he missed an African Union summit that was held in his own backyard, Addis Ababa. The first time he had not attended the event since he came to power in 1991. Perhaps he was following his doctors’ advice “to rest after experiencing exhaustion resulting from long years of service without a break” as Ethiopia’s communications minister Bereket Simon said.
As Ethiopia appears at the crossroads on the direction it will take, Zenawi’s legacy is equally split. While there is a lot of good that will be credited to his leadership, there is also lot of blame that will put on him. Under his leadership, there was impressive economic growth, reduced infant mortality and HIV/AIDS infection rates as well as improved food security according to statistics though the usual challenges that dog developing countries remained.
He may have pushed for national development but severely curtailed democracy and personal freedoms; he brooked no opposition and crushed his opponents. While at the helm, he led his country into a disastrous war with neighbouring Eritrea that still has repercussions, and got sucked into the Somali conflict. Was it out of geopolitical considerations considering Ethiopia’s place in the volatile Horn of Africa region or was it positioning himself within Western interests in the area for self-preservation? It was a bit of both.
Born Legesse Zenawi in May 1955, to an Ethiopian father and a mother from Eritrea, he adopted the Meles as a nom de guerre during the war against Haile Mariam Mengistu’s government. Upon toppling that government, as head of the rebels he became a transitional president from 1991 to 1995. Following a change in the constitution and secession of Eritrea, he became an executive prime minister from 1995 up to this year.
And what a year it is turning out to be, a number of African leaders have died in office including Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi and John Atta Mills of Ghana; and for Meles Zenawi, it is just another one bites the dust.
