By: VOH
Email- finmartens165@gmail.com
Trained in civil engineering, Simegnew was known for his discipline, humility, and tireless devotion. For years, he lived by the dam site in Benishangul-Gumuz, rarely taking time for himself, driven by a single mission: to transform Ethiopia from darkness to light. GERD was not merely a project to him — it was a promise to the next generation, a beacon of dignity, and an answer to poverty.
But on July 26, 2018, that promise was struck down. Simegnew was found dead in his car in broad daylight at Meskel Square, Addis Ababa. The government rushed to call it “suicide.” Ethiopians did not believe it then, and they do not believe it now. Simegnew was not suicidal. He was assassinated.
His death marked more than the loss of a brilliant engineer. It was the opening act of a darker chapter in Ethiopia’s history. Under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed — the man the world hails as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate — a systematic elimination of independent voices began. Patriots, generals, journalists, and activists who stood for national unity and truth were silenced one by one. Simegnew’s assassination was not an isolated tragedy; it was a signal of what was to come.
For Abiy Ahmed, men like Simegnew were dangerous. They embodied selfless service, credibility, and national vision — qualities that stood in stark contrast to a regime built on propaganda, ethnic division, and fear. Eliminating Simegnew was not just about silencing one man. It was about crippling the spirit of national unity and progress he represented.
Today, GERD stands tall on the Nile. But it is not Abiy’s achievement, as his propaganda machine claims. It is Simegnew’s blood, sweat, and sacrifice that built it. While Abiy Ahmed builds palaces and wages war against his own citizens, Simegnew gave his life for Ethiopia’s dignity.
The irony is unbearable: the man who murdered Ethiopia’s hope walks the world as a “peacemaker.” Abiy Ahmed, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, rules through kidnapping, torture, and bloodshed. He kills the builders and crowns the destroyers.
But no bullet can erase Simegnew’s legacy. His life reminds Ethiopians that true nation-building is born from sacrifice, not deception. His assassination reminds the world that silence in the face of tyranny is complicity.
Simegnew Bekele was taken, but his dream endures. GERD will forever stand not as a monument to a regime of destruction, but to a man who lived and died so that Ethiopia could rise.
As he once said:
“This dam is not mine, it is Ethiopia’s.”
And so is his legacy.
Thank you, VOH! Great insight.