Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald)
This document prepared under the Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review, exposing the symbolic decay of TPLF’s political elite through the lens of Fetlework Gebregziabher (aka Monjorino) a once powerful, now widely detested figure. It connects political decay, hypocrisy, and shocking disconnect from the suffering of Tigray’s people with ironic and haunting symbolic details particularly, the now-infamous bug bite story.
“Bugs, Blood, and Betrayal: Fetlework ‘Monjorino’ and the Symbolic Rot of TPLF’s Political Decline”
Prepared By: Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review (HAGR) With contributions from leading regional and international political and security experts
Executive Summary:
This report shines a powerful spotlight on Fetlework Gebregziabher (known widely as
Monjorino) — arguably the most controversial and despised female figure in Tigray’s modern
political history. Once revered as a senior commander during TPLF’s armed struggle, Monjorino is now remembered as the embodiment of privilege, corruption, ideological emptiness, and grotesque political arrogance.
At the heart of this exposé lies a now-notorious incident during the TPLF leadership’s collapse and hiding in Kola Tembien’s Adyet Woreda, where, amid war, famine, and death, Monjorino was reportedly more concerned about being bitten by insects than the humanitarian catastrophe engulfing Tigray.
This document explores the symbolic and literal meanings of this event and how it captures the TPLF’s moral decay, its disconnection from the people, and the urgent need for political rebirth in Tigray. We also acknowledge the rare honesty and reformist courage shown by Getachew Reda, who has openly accepted the legacy of failure and is attempting a new political path
forward.
Section I: The Woman Behind the Ruins – Who is Monjorino?
Fetlework Gebregziabher, known by her wartime name Monjorino, rose through the ranks of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and held immense power for over four decades. She served in various central and executive leadership roles, including ministerial portfolios in Addis Ababa and later as a key figure in TPLF’s wartime logistics apparatus during the Tigray
resistance.
Yet behind her revolutionary credentials lay a deep contradiction: a woman who claimed to
represent the poor and downtrodden but became a symbol of elite detachment, luxury, and betrayal of the people’s ideals.
Section II: The Hiding in Adyet — Where Privilege Met Poverty
During the most humiliating and catastrophic collapse of the TPLF leadership — when Mekelle fell and the leadership fled into hiding in the mountainous terrains of Kola Tembien, specifically Adyet Woreda — the true nature of TPLF’s entitled elite became exposed.
As wounded fighters bled, civilians starved, and Tigray burned, Monjorino reportedly asked Getachew Reda if the house she was assigned was “free from bug bites”.
“Does the house I’m sleeping in have no bugs?”
— Monjorino, during one of the darkest moments of the Tigray Genocide.
The people of Adyet, historically neglected by the very TPLF elites who claimed to fight for rural Tigray, were now forced to host the same leaders who had ignored them for decades.
This shocking episode underscores the moral and ideological collapse of the TPLF: a leadership more concerned with insect-free comfort than the collective trauma, starvation, and displacement of its own people.
Section III: The Symbolism of the Bug Bite — Political Decay in Metaphor
The “bug bite story” has taken on almost mythical proportions in Tigrayan society, circulating through whispers, satire, and growing public outrage. It has come to represent:
The Rot of Political Privilege:
While ordinary citizens were being exterminated, Monjorino’s
greatest concern was mosquito bites.
The Disconnect from Reality: Her demand for comfort amidst war reveals the elite’s mental and emotional detachment from suffering.
The End of Revolutionary Legitimacy: The irony that Monjorino hid in a district ignored for decades by TPLF, only to demand cleanliness and comfort, shows how far the party had drifted from its roots.
Section IV: 45 Years of Power — What Did Monjorino Achieve?
From the 17-year armed struggle, through 27 years of state power, and now the post-genocide vacuum, Monjorino remains one of the most visible examples of TPLF’s failure to evolve,decentralize power, or reflect.
Her reign saw:
Suppression of dissent within Tigray.
Enrichment of the few at the expense of the many. Consolidation of power within closed circles of loyalists and clans.Strategic miscalculations that led Tigray to a genocidal abyss. Monjorino’s legacy is not one of vision but of stagnation, arrogance, and betrayal.
Section V: Getachew Reda’s Political
Evolution — A Glimmer of Honesty
In contrast, Getachew Reda — despite having served within TPLF — has openly acknowledged its political failures, even at risk to his own safety and political standing. His efforts to:
Break from the corrupt remnants of the “Above the Core” TPLF militarist elites,
Champion new leadership from younger, educated generations,Acknowledge the internal rot and political crimes committed under the TPLF’s name,have earned him respect among the people and suspicion among the old guards.
This report recognizes his rare honesty and urges the Tigrayan people and international actors
to support transparent political renewal, not a recycled regime under new names.
Section VI: Conclusion — Bug Bites and Bloodlines Cannot Define Tigray’s Future
The future of Tigray cannot and must not be defined by self-entitled elites, insect-free bed
demands, or historical guilt masquerading as legitimacy.Fetlework Monjorino’s actions and attitudes are a case study in how revolutions die: not by external attack alone, but through internal decay, betrayal, and loss of humility.
As Tigray reፕፕፕፕፕbuilds, there must be:
No amnesia about who destroyed trust.
No impunity for those who misused power during people’s darkest hours
No tolerance for self-serving political nostalgia that blinds us to truth.
Final Recommendations:
- Institutional Memory Matters: Public records and commissions must document the role of
failed leaders in Tigray’s destruction. - End the Cult of the Old Guard: No future should be held hostage to the failed ideologies of
the past. - Support Leadership Renewal: Empower younger, principled, and people-focused leaders who
understand the cost of political arrogance. - Justice Before Reconciliation: Tigray needs accountability before unity.
Issued By:
Horn of Africa Geopolitical Review (HAGR)
Dedicated to political truth, justice, and regional peace
