The Unfinished Business of Justice and the Betrayal of Reconciliation

By Israel Soboka

There are some truths that cannot be buried, no matter how much time passes, no matter how many official narratives are crafted, no matter how loudly the powerful insist that we move on. One such truth lies beneath the bustling streets, the government buildings, and the ambitious infrastructure of Finfinne—a city whose very foundations are steeped in blood.

The city we now know as Finfinne was not established upon empty land, descending from the heavens like a divine gift. It was built through genocide. When the army of Emperor Menelik settled upon this land, they did not find a vacant wilderness waiting for civilisation. They found the Oromo people—indigenous, thriving, rooted in the soil for generations. And they systematically removed them.

This is the uncomfortable, unavoidable reality: Finfinne is a city built on the bones of the Oromo people.

The Promise of Reconciliation

For a brief moment, there was hope. Across Ethiopia, a national dialogue was convened—a conversation intended to heal the deep, festering wounds of centuries. The expectation was clear: this commission would acknowledge the genocide committed against the southern peoples of the country, including the atrocities carried out across Oromia. It would offer recognition, pave the way for apology, and lay the foundation for lasting peace through mutual understanding.

Hope flickered in the hearts of many. Perhaps, at long last, history would be confronted rather than concealed. Perhaps the victims and their descendants would receive the dignity of acknowledgment. Perhaps Ethiopia could finally begin the arduous work of genuine reconciliation.

But hope, as it so often does in the face of entrenched power, proved fragile.

The Commission That Became a Conspiracy

The National Dialogue Commission was not established to heal. It was hijacked.

Instead of becoming a vehicle for truth and forgiveness, it was commandeered by the familiar machinery of political manipulation—the same old games of Abyssinian elite politics that have, for generations, prioritised control over justice. Rather than laying the groundwork for peace, the commission has become a catalyst for further tension. Rather than addressing the historical grievances of the Oromo and southern peoples, it has provided cover for continued denial and evasion.

The most egregious betrayal? The attempt to sever Finfinne from Oromia entirely. This is not a policy debate; it is an existential assault. To detach Finfinne from its Oromo identity is to complete the genocide—to erase not just the people, but the very memory that this land ever belonged to them. It is an attempt to annihilate the foundation upon which peace could be built.

The commission was never meant to support the perpetrators of genocide against the Oromo and southern peoples. Yet that is precisely what it has become: a shield for the guilty and a dagger aimed at the heart of the victims.

The Wound That Will Not Heal

The scars of history are not to be smoothed over; they are to be acknowledged. A wound that is covered without being cleaned does not heal—it festers. And that is what is happening now. The commission, in its current form, is not addressing the historical wounds; it is picking at them, ensuring that they remain raw, infected, and painful for generations to come.

This is not reconciliation. This is provocation disguised as dialogue. This is manipulation masquerading as peace-building. And the people of Oromia see it for what it is.

A New Generation Awakens

But here is the truth that the architects of this betrayal have failed to understand: the new Oromo generation is not weak.

This is not a generation that will beg for its freedom. This is not a generation that will quietly accept the denial of its history or the theft of its land. This is not a generation that will wait for permission to claim its rights.

A new Oromo generation has emerged—one that knows its history, one that understands its power, and one that possesses the capacity to defend its rights. The Addis Ababa forces—the heirs of Menelik’s imperial project—must abandon their hope of subduing this generation. Their dreams of perpetual dominance are finished. Their expectations of subjugation are obsolete.

The Oromo people are no longer asking for permission. They are asserting their existence.

The Illegitimacy of the Commission

Let us be clear: the National Dialogue Commission does not speak for the Oromo people. It has no mandate. It holds no legitimate authority to represent the will, the pain, or the aspirations of the Oromo. It is a collection of individuals—unelected, unaccountable, and unworthy of trust—who have inserted themselves into a process they have no business steering.

They do not have the right to dictate the terms of a peace that they have no intention of honouring. They do not have the authority to decide the fate of a land and a people whose suffering they refuse to acknowledge. And they must not be permitted to disrupt the legitimate quest for justice under the guise of dialogue.

A Call to Action

The time for polite fiction is over. The time for empty gestures and meaningless commissions is over. The time for half-measures and hollow promises is over.

What is needed now is clear and unwavering:

Recognition. The genocide committed against the Oromo and southern peoples must be acknowledged—not in vague, diplomatic language, but in explicit, undeniable terms.

Justice. The perpetrators of these crimes, past and present, must be held accountable. No one is above the law, and no one is beyond the reach of history.

Restoration. The land that was stolen, the dignity that was stripped, and the future that was denied must be returned to the Oromo people.

Peace. But peace with justice, not peace built on the suppression of truth. Peace that honours the victims, not peace that erases them.

The Final Word

Finfinne is a city built on bones. But those bones are not silent. They cry out for recognition. They cry out for justice. And a new generation—proud, strong, and unyielding—has risen to answer their call.

The forces of denial and domination may cling to their power for a little while longer. But history is not on their side. Justice is not on their side. And the will of the Oromo people is not on their side.

The architects of genocide and their modern-day apologists can delay the reckoning. But they cannot stop it. The truth will out. The land will be reclaimed. And the city built on bones will, one day, be a city built on justice.

In solidarity with the Oromo people and all who refuse to let the dead be forgotten.

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” — Marcus Garvey