SerialSaga: Mengistu Haile Mariam

Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam sounds like the name of a deadly general in an action-packed movie, but the reality is eerily close to the truth. Born in 1937, this Ethiopian Army officer rose through the ranks after receiving training in the US, ultimately playing a key role in overthrowing the monarchy and establishing a communist state in Ethiopia.

Mengistu's time in the US on three different occasions made him fluent in English. However, his military career was not without conflict. Before his second departure for US training, Mengistu clashed with General Haile Baykedagn, the Third Division commander, whose strict discipline Mengistu resented. This conflict foreshadowed later events when Mengistu would orchestrate the murder of General Baykedagn along with 60 ministers and generals.

Initially, Mengistu was a minor member of the Derg, a committee of low-ranking officers and enlisted soldiers led by Atnafu Abate. This group, among others, led the 1974 Ethiopian revolution. Mengistu did not emerge as the leader of the Derg until the 3 February 1977 shootout, in which Chairman Tafari Benti was killed. Mengistu then clashed with Vice-Chairman Atnafu Abate over the Eritrean war, eventually leading to Abate’s execution along with 40 other officers, thus clearing Mengistu's path to power.

Upon formally assuming power as head of state, Mengistu justified the execution of Abate by claiming he had "placed the interests of Ethiopia above the interests of socialism." Mengistu then waged an internal war against revolutionary student organizations in a campaign infamously known as the "Red Terror."

During this campaign, thousands of young men and women were systematically murdered, their bodies often found in the streets of the capital and other cities. The militia attached to the kebeles, neighborhood watch committees serving as the lowest level local government and security units, carried out most of these killings. Families had to pay a "wasted bullet" tax to the kebeles to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.

The Red Terror is regarded as one of the worst mass murders in Africa. Some experts estimate that hundreds of thousands of university students, intellectuals, and politicians, including Emperor Haile Selassie, were killed during Mengistu's rule. Amnesty International estimates that half a million people perished during the Red Terror. It was not uncommon to see students, suspected government critics, or rebel sympathizers hanging from lampposts each morning. Mengistu himself is alleged to have murdered opponents by garroting or shooting them, claiming he was leading by example.

Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam’s legacy is a dark chapter in Ethiopian history, marked by brutal repression and mass murder.