Keria Ibrahim

Keria Ibrahim (Tigrinya and Amharic: ኬርያ ኢብራሂም; born 22 March 1973) is an Ethiopian politician who was speaker of the House of Federation from 2018 until her resignation on 9 June 2020. She was the Tigray Region's head of civil service and chief administrator of the South Eastern zone. Keria is one of the nine Central Committee members of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF),[1] and the head of Women's Affair in the region.[2][3][4]

This is an Ethiopian name. The last name is a patronymic, not a family name; this person is referred to by the given name Keria.
Her Excellency
Keria Ibrahim
ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም
Speaker of the House of Federation
In office
6 May 2018 – 9 June 2020
Preceded byYalew Abate
Succeeded byAdan Farah
Personal details
Born (1973-03-22) March 22, 1973
Asmara, Eritrea Province, Ethiopian Empire
NationalityEthiopian
Political partyTigray People's Liberation Front
Other political
affiliations		Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
EducationEconomics (BA) and Environmental anthropology (MA)

Background

Keria Ibrahim was born in Asmara (now in present day Eritrea), and raised in Wukro, Tigray Province.[4][5] She was born to a middle class family that earned its living through the income earned from operating a small kiosk.[6] Though she failed to pass secondary school, she had become an agricultural expert and progressed on her dream and awarded Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Master's degree in Environmental anthropology.[5][2]

Political career

Keria has worked in different levels of power in the Tigray Region from the district to regional level since 1988. She is one of the few female leaders in the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Keria was speaker of the House of Federation (HoF) from 6 May 2018 until her resignation on 9 June 2020.[2][7]

Keria was the only Muslim member of the TPLF, founding member of Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), Executive Committee.[1][8]

Resignation

In March 2020, the House of Federation postponed the general election scheduled for August 29, 2020, to an undetermined date because to the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] Following this, on 9 June 2020, Keria accused Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government of taking away the sovereign rights of the country and resigned from her role as speaker of the HoF. She stated that the constitution was being violated and a "dictatorial government” was being formed, and could not collaborate with a "historical mistake".[10][11]

Arrest warrant and detention

On 13 November 2020, during the start of the Tigray War, the Federal Police Commission of Ethiopia issued an arrest warrant for Keria and 64 other senior members of the TPLF. According to the Federal Police Commission, Keria and her fellow members committed treason and were responsible for human rights violations and corruption.[12][13] On 1 December 2020, federal authorities stated that Keria had surrendered to the federal security forces in Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray Region.[14] On 16 January 2021, Keria appeared in court.[15][16]

On 11 March 2021, Keria was released on bail. The prosecutor's office found no sufficient evidence to detain the suspects during the investigation, and asked the court to grant her a bail.[17][18][19] But she has been remanded in the custody till further investigations are held.[18]

On 27 May 2021, according to Al Ain Amharic, Keria went to court again, for she left her testimony. Keria had signed an agreement that she will witness on 42 members of TPLF. It was also a reason that has let her be released on bail. But Keria reported that she will not give any testimony, and the agreement was also made by force. Following this, she went to the court again.[20]

Release from prison

On Thursday, 30 March 2023, Keria and all civil and military leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front were released from prison. It believed to be a result of peace deal between the government of Ethiopia and TPLF, an armed regional based political party.[21]

See also

References
  1. "One of Top Leaders of TPLF Keria Ibrahim Surrenders". Ethiopian News Agency. 1 December 2020. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. TesfaNews (8 June 2020). "Speaker of Ethiopia's Upper House Resigns". TesfaNews. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  3. "Speaker of Ethiopia's upper house resigns after polls postponed". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  4. ""ፍቅር እስከ መቃብርን አልረሳውም" ወ/ሮ ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  5. "የወይዘሮ ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም ትዳር እንዴት ፈረሰ?". Yeahun Zena. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  6. "ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም ከውቅሮ እስከ አራት ኪሎ". www.ethioreference.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  7. "Keria Ibrahim Elected Speaker of Ethiopian House of Federation". www.ezega.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  8. "Ethiopia: The Former Speaker Keria Ibrahim Surrendered". Geeska Africa. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  9. "Ethiopia postpones August election due to coronavirus". Reuters. 31 March 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. TesfaNews (8 June 2020). "Speaker of Ethiopia's Upper House Resigns". TesfaNews. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  11. "Speaker of Ethiopia's upper house resigns after polls postponed". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  12. "Arrest warrant issued for TPLF Junta members". Welcome to Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  13. "Arrest Warrant Issued on 96 Tigray Officials, Army Generals". www.ezega.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. "Ethiopian govt says senior politician linked to Tigray region rebellion surrenders". Reuters. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  15. "Former TPLF officials appear before court". The Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  16. "Sebhat Nega and Keria Ibrahim appeared in court". www.sheganews.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  17. "ወ/ሮ ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም ከእስር በዋስ መለቀቃቸው ተነገረ". BBC News አማርኛ (in Amharic). Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  18. "ወይዘሮ ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም በዋስ እንዲለቀቁ ተወሰነ". Welcome to Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  19. "Court grants bail to Keria Ibrahim, former Speaker of House of Federation". Welcome to Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. "ወ/ሮ ኬሪያ ኢብራሂም ምስክርነታቸው ቀርቶ ፍርድ ቤት ቀረቡ". አል ዐይን ኒውስ (in Amharic). 27 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  21. "Keria Ibrahim and Two Other TPLF Leaders Released from Prison Amid Peace Deal in Tigray Region". Addis Insight. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
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