ETHIOPIA: WHO IS MULUGETA ASRATE KASSA (SON OF RAS ASRATE KASSA)???
IHope20000000
IS HE DEAD OR ALIVE?
Balcha Abamela (London)
Ato Mulugeta Asrate Kassa who faced litigation for failing to settle a
£40,000 loan he had taken from the widow of Emperor Bokassa of Central
Africa, had few years ago posted notices in London pronouncing him self
dead.
He has now miraculously resurrected from his tomb to criticize and defame
different institutions and personalities. Hence public knowledge deserves
to be furnished with answers for questions such as: Who is Mulugeta Asrate
Kassa? How was he brought up? Is he dead or alive? And if alive, what is he
likely up to now?
Mulugeta Asrate was born to Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa and Leilt Zuriash
Mulugeta in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. His father Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa was the
son of Ras Kassa Hailu, Darge, Sahile Selassie (a great grand son of Sahile
Selassie, the King of Shoa). Leilt Zuriash, who now a welfare queen living on
British welfare income in London, is the daughter of Ras Mulugeta who as the
Minister of War died at the battle of Maichew in 1936.
Ras Mulugeta is remembered for paying heroic sacrifice for his country at
an old age. Ras Kassa on the other hand is noted by many historians as having
been the major factor behind Ethiopia's untimely military loss at Maichew.
This is because Emperor Haile Selassie had appointed Ras Kassa to liaise
between the Emperor and his Commanders at the war front. Though very loyal
to Emperor Haile Selassie, Ras Kassa didn't have military knowledge or past
battle experience to enable him perform the important task assigned to him
during that critical moment in history.
When Emperor Haile Selassie fled Ethiopia after being defeated by the
fascist Italian invaders at Maichew, Ras Kassa Hailu was one of the few
Aristocrats
who was privileged to escort the Emperor to Jerusalem, Palestine. Having no
more than basic church education, Ras Kassa who had no ability to assist in
the diplomatic struggle was left in Jerusalem with all the gold and other
assets he was able to run away with. His compatriots in Jerusalem have left
memoirs that detail his geocentricism and his very stingy characteristics,
which they claim prevented him from contributing for, or participating in
any thing related to the liberation of Ethiopia or her interests.
Asrate Kassa, Mulugeta's father, who was in his early teens at the time,
is remembered for having joined several schools in Jerusalem and Lebanon.
However, the reputation he left behind is nothing more than a Play
Boy because he was unable to pursue serious education in the numerous
schools he was enrolled in. The above not withstanding, the other sons of Ras
Kassa who were old enough to stand on their own feet had remained behind and
courageously fought against the fascist invaders in whose hands they were
brutally executed.
When Emperor Haile Selassie was brought to The Sudan by Great Britain,
which as ready to revenge against Italy by assisting the Emperor to re-enter
his
country, Ras Kassa Hailu was one of the companions selected by the Emperor
for the long journey. Mulugeta's father, Asrate Kassa, who was unable to
exploit the educational opportunities afforded him, and who unlike the
other Ethiopian youth in Diaspora failed to participate in any thing patriotic,
joined his father to The Sudan where he was enrolled for a one month
training, which did not extend beyond basic military drill. As this was a
military training in form, and not in content, the Emperor gave Asrate
Kassa the rank of a Colonel when he handed out senior military ranks to his own
two sons and others he wanted to see dressed in British military uniform. That
was where and when Colonel Asrate Kassa befriended Crown Prince Asfawesen
to whom he remained a loyal servant for the remainder of his life.
Elders had a story to tell about what transpired when Colonel Asrate Kassa
asked for the hands of Weizero Zuriash Mulugeta, because all relatives of
Ras Mulugeta had held Asrate's father, Ras Kassa, accountable to what they
consider the untimely death of their Patriarch at Maichew. According to the
same sources it was the personal intervention of Crown Prince Asfa Wesen
which made Asrate's marriage to Zuriash possible. After roaming with Crown
Prince Asfa Wesen for some time, Colonel Asrate Kassa was appointed to
replace one of the most respected Ethiopian officers of the time, Colonel
Abiye Abebe, as governor of Wellega. That is where the very embarrassing
civil service and political history of Mulugeta's father begins.
People who had the opportunity of attending Emperor Haile Selassie's
court today remember the reputation of Asrate Kassa as that of a lire, corrupt,
joker, play boy, looter, cheater, etc., but nothing to match the honour
Emperor Haile Selassie had designed for him to enjoy. It is also evident
that Asrate had not enjoyed the trust and confidence of his own father. When
his
father established the Ras Kassa Family Welfare Foundation he
didn't consider Mulugeta's father worthy of its leadership. He had therefore to
appoint his grand son, Dejazmach Amha Abera, President and Trustee of the
Foundation.
Colonel Asrate Kassa had become a Dejazmach, a Leul Dejazmach and a Ras
before being named a Leul Ras. He also held the positions of, among others,
that of Governor of Arusi, Governor of Shoa, Vice President of the Senate
and the Emperor's Representative in Eritrea. It is a very well documented
fact that Asrate has been relieved of most of his appointments for some
wrongdoing. As a matter of fact, many observers of the Emperor's Court
use to say that Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa should be grateful to Leul-Ras Mengesha
Seyoum, who in his years of maturity was recognized as hard worker and
productive, because all titles bestowed upon Mengesha were also given to
Asrate by Emperor Haile Selassie as a gesture of maintaining a balance or
equity between the Tigre and Amhara Aristocracy. The position last held by
Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa, before his demise in 1974, was Chairman of the Crown
Council, where he had badly failed to earn the respect of his colleagues
and as a result of which he was unable to be a factor during the most trying
moments in the Emperor's Palace.
Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa was found to be nothing more than a spoiler as the
complexity of the problems confronted by the Emperor's regime forced the
true self of Asrate to surface. As is the case with a play boy during
trying moments, Asrate was unable to read the clear writings on the wall. He
foolishly assumed that there could possibly be a room for him if the most
able Prime Minister, Aklilu Habtewold, was to resign. He agitated among
Senior Army Officers to petition the Emperor against his consideration of
General Abiye Abebe to replace Tsehafi Taezaz Aklilu Habtewold as Prime
Minister. When Lidj Endalkachew Mekonen assumed the Premiership, he
instigated various groups to cause instability. Most evident at the time
was Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa's fabrication of a story regarding a non-existent
United Nations Fund for Ethiopian Soldiers who served in The Congo. It was
revealed that he was secretly meeting with the Soldier's representatives
and encouraging them to demand a non existent right, by falsely assuring them
that he had persuaded the Emperor to instruct that they be paid though Lidj
Endalkachew had become an obstacle in the implementation of the Emperor's
orders.
The purpose in presenting the above is only to give a glimpse on who
Mulugeta Asrate's father was. Otherwise, there is no need for much detailed
writing as many books and articles have already been read about the personality
of
Leul-Ras Asrate Kassa. One of the necessary readings in this regard may be
the book written by an eye witness in Amharic Ye-Ertra Enqoqilish (The
Eritrea Puzzle). Likewise a lot can be written about the past and present
wrongs of Mulugeta's mother who has exiled her self in London due to
serious cardiac ailment. All this is by no means meant to endorse the manner
in
which the Military Junta, without due process, executed Leul-Ras Asrate in
1974. The evil Junta has, together with Mulugeta's father, mercilessly
killed many patriotic and innocent historical figures for which deservingly it
is
now held accountable. Humanity should join hands in the condemnation of the
Junta's barbaric deeds. However, it should also be understood that two
wrongs don't make a right. Princely titles and other honours given by the
ancien
regime should not be instrumental to conceal the true self of the political
actors of that period of Ethiopian history. When crooks and devilish
mercenaries like Mulugeta Asrate attempt to hoodwink public opinion by
hiding behind sentimental issues, it would be more than appropriate to daringly
expose the truth about where they are trying to come from.
Though a family institution plays a major role in ones personality
formation, it will be difficult to conclude that personality traits are
hereditary.
Therefore, however much it may be easy to draw a parallel between Mulugeta
and his parents, particularly between him and his father, one cannot rule
out the possibility of finding other persons who may not have been as
adversely affected in this same family. With this understanding in mind,
some of the facts which are widely known about Mulugeta Asrate Kassa are
presented below:
1) Mulugeta Asrate Kassa was a juvenile delinquent from early childhood.
Like was the case with some children born to aristocratic families, the
education given by Ethiopian schools was not found satisfactory for
Mulugeta's development. Hence, his father got him enrolled in the London
boarding school whose Head Master had to call and inform Asrate, only after
a brief schooling period, that his son was no more attending the school.
Apparently Mulugeta who was able to forge his father's signature and
withdraw some £15,000 from his father's London bank account had told his
friends
that he had won lottery. His father flew to London and found Mulugeta enjoying
the money with a British schoolmate who had taken Mulugeta home believing his
lottery story was true. Because the school refused readmission in spite of
the diplomatic pressure, Mulugeta's father had to bring him back to
Ethiopia and intern him at the Tebase military camp in Debre Berhan for
punishment.
Mulugeta later joined the Sanford British Community School where upto date
he is remembered for his lies, theft and other delinquent behaviour. Unlike
the London school, the Sanford school in Ethiopia didn't dare expel Mulugeta
inspite of negative influence on many young minds.
2) In spite of the many opportunities Mulugeta was blessed with by being
born to a Feudal family, which has amassed lots of wealth, he was unable to
pursue higher education. Assisted by his father, Ethiopian Television service
employed him as a news caster a job he held until the military take-over. Some
members of the military junta (The Dergue), who probably suffered from some
sort of
inferiority complex, were running after the wives and daughters of the
high-ranking officials they had detained. Mulugeta, who lost no time to
establish intimate contact with these corrupt soldiers became the satisfier
of their sex appetite. There are many more stories about this immoral
character and his soldier accomplices which for decency's sake need not
be mentioned now.
3) One may find it difficult to believe that it was no other person, but
Mulugeta him self, who through his newly won associates in the Dergue led
the military squad, which arrested his father, to the Guenete Iyesus church,
where according to some he was praying and according to others hiding. At
the time Mulugeta's father, Leul- Ras Asrate Kassa, was feared because of
his clandestine relationship with the soldiers who fought in Congo and widely
spread rumours the he is likely to raise a fight instead of being arrested
because he was armed to his teeth. The only favour made for Mulugeta by his
associates in the Dergue was to allow him to drive his father in his own car to
jail.
4) When after a few months the Dergue executed his father together with the
60 victims, it was Mulugeta who read the news of the execution, on
Television, without any remorse or feelings of sorrow.
5) Mulugeta Asrate's role as facilitator of Aristocratic Sex to his
clients in the Dergue had continued beyond his father's death.
6) Mulugeta Asrate today wants us to believe that he was a prisoner of
conscience. This is a great insult to the genuine prisoners of conscience
who had languished in the miserable prisons of the Dergue. Today it is
proven beyond doubt that Mulugeta Asrate was imprisoned for collecting
money from persons who had wanted to leave the country by promising them that
he
will secure them the necessary exit permit and visa through his
connections.
7) While under detention, it is now public secret that Mulugeta had served
the Security apparatus of the Dergue by spying and reporting upon the
members the members of the Royal Family who were imprisoned with him. He is
currently not in talking terms with most members of the Royal Family for the
same reason.
8) Mulugeta is also not in good terms with his own sisters and brothers,
because he was using his advantageous position to receive and consume by
himself all the money and other provisions which were being sent to prison
for the entire family.
9) Only Mulugeta can tell the number of women he got engaged with to
exploit and the other persons he cheated in Addis Ababa upon his release from
jail.
He found this possible by his talent of fabricating stories about himself
and his family. It was because of the difficulties emanating from this
behaviour that he had to seek the assistance of the security apparatus (The
Ministry for Internal Affairs) to run away from Ethiopia.
10) Mulugeta was therefore recruited by the Department of External Affairs
of the said Ministry to spy upon the late Crown Prince (Atse Amha Selassie)
and his environs. In spite of the fact that Mulugeta's assignment was
discovered by the Crown Prince's Son in Law, who chased him away, Mulugeta
succeeded to remain in the payroll of the Dergue until the Drgue's demise in
1991.
WHO IS MULUGETA ASRATE KASSA? PART II WILL CONTINUE.