Bekele Gerba was born on 1961 and is an Ethiopian politician and activist.
21 Facts About Bekele Gerba
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Bekele Gerba is a member of Oromo Federalist Congress which promotes political change by nonviolence.
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Bekele Gerba attended primary school in Boji Dirmaji and high school in Gimbi.
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Bekele Gerba obtained a bachelor of arts in foreign language and literature at Addis Ababa University.
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Bekele Gerba moved to Addis Ababa and continued teaching at private universities.
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In 2009, Bekele Gerba joined the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, becoming a member of the executive committee and becoming head of OFDM's public relations team.
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Bekele Gerba was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2010 Ethiopian general election.
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Bekele Gerba's sentence was reduced on appeal to three years, seven months.
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In 2012, while still in prison, Bekele Gerba became the First Deputy Chair of the Oromo Federalist Congress that was formed from a merger of the OFDM and the OPC.
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Bekele Gerba estimated that in the Ziway Prison where he spent part of his sentence, about 2000 of the prisoners were Oromo political prisoners.
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Bekele Gerba was detained again, together with 21 others, mostly senior OFC members, on 23 December 2015.
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Bekele Gerba was released on 13 February 2018, a day before journalist Eskinder Nega and Andualem Aragie of Ethiopian Citizens for Social Justice were released, and after a wave of 6000 releases of political prisoners in early 2018.
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Bekele Gerba stated that most of the prisoners remaining in Ziway Prison were political prisoners.
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Bekele Gerba was detained on 30 June 2020 together with Jawar Mohammed and 33 others following the 29 June Hachalu Hundessa riots.
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At Torhayloch Hospital, Bekele Gerba refused to be treated, "fearing for his life".
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The Federal High Court confirmed its order for Bekele Gerba to be taken to Landmark Hospital.
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Bekele Gerba said that he became aware of ethnic diversity when studying at university.
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Bekele Gerba described his motivation to enter politics as a reaction to discrimination, including unfair land transfers.
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Bekele Gerba argued that the pattern was similar in all parts of Ethiopia.
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In 2015, Bekele Gerba felt that Oromo independence was not a high priority and that it remained possible for injustices against the Oromo to be solved within the federal system.
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Bekele Gerba stated in 2015 that he saw no role for armed struggle for the OFC, favouring the civil disobedience methods of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.