On the occasion of his 126^thbirthday, commemorative events will be held from July 23-25, 2018, in Ejersa- Goro, Kombolcha, and Harar: where he was born, where he received his early education, and where he developed a sharp intellect with a remarkable capacity to become the governor of Harar. These three places can be the depository of the legacies of the Emperor.

Main events will be;

1. A 10 km walk in remembrance of Yeshembet Ali, an audacious young woman, who rode 112 km and 9,120 ft, in her fully pregnancy to Ejersa- Goro, on a mule back on a rainy day through an impenetrable jungle, on untamed path to deliver her only son, Tafari Makonnen. This is her first successful delivery after several attempts in Harar. Some said she attempted nine times and others said twelve.

2. In the afternoon 5,000 Olive trees will be planted in the area. It must be remembered that the area was covered with Olive and other native trees. Ejersa Goro means in Oromiffa is place of Olive Trees. Currently, there are no  Olive trees except those that were planted during the first birthday celebration of the Emperor in 2011.

3.  The following day a panel discussion will be held in the Museum of Harar which used to be the residence of Dejazmach Tafari (Emperor Haile Selassie). Critical books on the Emperor by member of his regime and by those outside his regime will be discussed. The theme of the panel will be “God and History will always remember your judgment”, the phrase is taken from his speech which the Emperor delivered 82 years ago at the League of Nations. His appealed then is equally relevant in today’s Ethiopia, in where “God and History” are now raising his legacies from their ashes.

The aim of discussion is to give the true picture of the Emperor as a person as well as a leader to the present and coming generation. It also help to unravel the Genesis of the hate-politics in Ethiopia which led to ethnic politics and finally to anti Ethiopia-winet (Ethiopianism).

4. The two-day celebration will be concluded with entertainment by Nebula and Naza music and promotion groups in the former Haile Selassie Palace in Harar city. The program will include: poems, cultural, and, “the King’s music”, reggae.

According to Yeshembet’s family story, 126 years ago, when, Yeshembet was in full pregnancy, her father, Fetawerari Ali, in Wello province, in Werilu region, 950 km away from Harar, summoned all the spiritual healers in his district. He asked them to have special prayers for his daughter safely deliver until the errand boys return with the news from Ejersa Goro. When the good news reached in his governmental region, at the crack of dawn, the town crier echoed it with blowing horn trumpet throughout the villages. A large number of people including, Fatima, Merdia, Marima, sisters of Yeshembet, and close and distant families arrived in Fetawerari compound while he was still in bed. Outside the compound, the horse men with rifles circled the area and began shooting into the air. All the available bullets in the court were fired out. The birth of the baby brought double joy for he was the only son in the family of Fetawerari Ali.

One year later, during the first birthday celebration of baby Tafari, in Kombolcha, Harar, one an anonymous lady rhymed the following prophetic poem:  

“ሀምሳ ቢወልዱ ሀምሳ ነው ጉዱ

  የሼመቤት ልጅ ይበቃል አንዱ”  

Meaning this only child will be larger than life.

In celebrating the Emperor birthday, we will celebrate the spiritual and moral foundation of the whole range of his leadership. In celebrating his birthday, we will also celebrate the Ethiopian Queens’ and Kings’ lineage that is written in The Bible with holy ink.

Professor Spencer Wells, a geneticist anthropologist, in his 2008, documentary film said that he conducted DNA’s test on one of the Emperor’s grandsons and confirmed that the Emperor’s and his ancestors’ “Y” chromosomes was identical with that of the ancient Israelites. This approved the story of the Queen of Sheba in the Bible and the claim of the Ethiopian monarchy is descendant of King Solomon is no longer legend, but a true fact. Through the Emperor’s lineage the stolen legacy of the black people’s civilization in the Middle East once again can be reclaimed.

Happy 126^th birthday!

• 126th birthday celebration of Haile Selassie, Mulugeta Haile, 07/08/2018