By Adam Denekew Mekonnen
In recent years, Ethiopia has witnessed a new kind of political performance that is one carefully choreographed, deeply polished, and widely televised. They are called Public Sessions, forums where Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sits with a handpicked section of people, such as teachers, doctors, journalists, artists, and even religious leaders. On the surface, this looks like dialogue. But in truth, it is performance.
These sessions are not democratic engagement in both process and result. They are stage-managed performances designed to simulate conversation while avoiding the risk of dissent. And in the middle of a nation bleeding from multiple armed conflicts, they are dangerously disconnected from reality.
Curated Questions, Selected Praises
The guests invited to these sessions are chosen not for the substance and urgency of their concerns, but for their predictability. Vocal critics, union leaders, and those most affected by the current crises are excluded. Instead, we see polite professionals who know how to thank the leader three times before asking a question, if they ask one at all.
Some guests do not even pretend to inquire. One of the artists, with half-white hair — the kind that usually commands respect and truth in Ethiopian culture — stood and said, “If you were a seed, if you were teff, I would sow you and multiply you.” But rather than speak truth to power, he chose to flatter it. Another simply said: “I won’t take your time with questions. I want you to thank you — for the light you show us.” On another occasion, a priest chanted Kidase, a sacred Orthodox liturgy, in honor of the Prime Minister. These commendations are voiced even as the country suffers due to the misguided decisions of the individual who holds authority in Arat Kilo and is driven by an insatiable thirst for power.
Questions That Never Came
What is striking is not what was said but what was not.
Not one speaker asked: “When will the war end?”
Not one raised the question of peace in Amhara and Oromia.
Not one demanded answers for the crumbling schools, the looted hospitals, or the families displaced and grieving.
And yet, everyone in the room knew. They knew about the killings. The hunger. The blackouts. The silence was not ignorance. It was fear of punishment for the wrong question. This is not engagement. This is silence by design.
Development or Distraction?
These sessions are often framed by carefully curated city tours — gleaming buildings, freshly painted walls, tree-lined roads. But just beyond the camera’s frame lie unpaid teachers, hospitals begging for supplies, and rural areas abandoned to violence.Development without peace is not progress. I would rather call it a contradiction.
We are told the country is rising, while parts of it are burning. We are asked to celebrate imported smart boards while students sit under trees. We are shown glass towers, while inside the homes of survivors, there is no light, no water, no food.
Governance or Illusion?
It is tempting to call these sessions harmless. After all, what’s wrong with dialogue?
But this is not dialogue. It is an illusion. It sends the message that Ethiopia is listening to itself, while those most in pain are muted.
If the government already knows which questions will never be asked, why pretend to ask them at all?
What we need are not carefully edited episodes of approval. What we need is honesty. Urgency. Real conversation.
The war — not just the one that Tigray suffered but the ongoing, brutal conflicts in Oromia and Amhara — has torn this country apart. It has cost us billions, but more tragically, it has cost lives, dignity, and trust.
The leader’s words about unity and vision may be poetic. But the country does not need poetry right now. It needs peace. It needs truth. It needs leadership that listens not only to praise but also to pain.
The Real Conversation Awaits
I must be clear that, of course, development matters. But, alongside armed conflict, it is a waste of economic resources. Public engagement matters. But without challenge, it is nothing short of a theater.
We are not actors.
We are citizens.
And our questions deserve answers, not applause.
Until then, these sessions were not about the people.
They were about the image. And an image, no matter how polished, cannot heal a nation starving, bleeding and in economic stagnation.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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It is a false gathering. It is a film with a pre-prepared script. It is a gathering that denies the reality while its people are dying and starving. It is a kind of laughing in the real situation of Ethiopia.