Abiy Ahmed has been treated as an international pariah due to his frequent lies, deceptive behaviour, and bombastic statements. Here are some instances of Abiy Ahmed’s public mendacity on the international stage. On June 10, 2018 Abiy Ahmed “swore by Allah” (Wallahi) to President El Sisi of Egypt that his government would not full up the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without signing an agreement with Egypt, but two year later he started filling up the dam in July 2020 without any agreement with Egypt. Swearing in a public setting is juvenile. Children swear; adults agree. Making a commitment that he had no intention of fulfilling was fundamentally wrong, particularly when such a commitment was made in public to a state. Moreover, invoking a higher power when swearing intensified the gravity of the breach. There was no need for him to swear; instead, he could have simply said, “we will reach a mutually beneficial agreement” or use diplomatic courtesy. The issue is not safeguarding Ethiopia’s national interests; it is honouring one’s word. By all means, he should protect Ethiopia’s national interests, but without lies. He has consistently deceived the UN and Western governments by repeatedly lying about the presence of Eritrean troops. On December 9, 2020, he assured Antonio Guterres that there were no Eritrean troops in Ethiopia, but in March 2021, he acknowledged the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray. Subsequently, he promised the world that Eritrean troops would soon withdraw from Ethiopia, but Eritrean troops are still in disputed territories. Once again, the issue at hand is not about the Ethiopian government’s sovereign right to invite Eritrean troops; the crux of the matter lies in his dishonesty. Other than the withdrawal of Eritrean troops, Abiy Ahmed made other commitments to the Biden administration concerning the conflict in Tigray and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) but has failed to fulfill most of it. He promised Blinken that those responsible for war crimes will be held accountable. He promised that he would restore Wolkait, Tsegede, and Raya to TPLF governance; he would release all TPLF prisoners; he would reinstate TPLF’s assets, among the other commitments he made to the Biden administration. He has not delivered on his promises. The US has no confidence in Abiy Ahmed. It has reset its alliance with Kenya.
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