A few weeks ago, Ethiopia’s The Reporter alleged that several Eritreans, including a general, General Hadish Ephrem, had been apprehended while crossing the Somalia-Kenya border. The report was picked up by a couple of Eritrean websites and an opposition group.

There is no factual basis to this report.  General Hadish Ephrem is alive and well in Asmara, doing what generals do.  In fact, to the extent that the names are factual, the people listed in The Reporter’s report are alive and well in Asmara and have not been apprehended. Some of the names listed are non-descript and virtually meaningless: there are literally dozens of “colonel Wedi Hans” and a claim that a “colonel wedi Hans was arrested” is hard to prove or disprove.

This is not to say that there were no Eritreans in Somalia or Kenya.  However, it is to say that the people who are allegedly apprehended according to The Reporter, have not been.

What Generals Do In Eritrea

Midian Hotel is a new hotel that opened in Asmara, just behind the Nyala Hotel.

To “commemorate” this hotel, Eritrea’s roaming celebrity generals were having a drink at its bar a couple of weeks ago.  In attendance were General Sebhat Ephrem, Eritrea’s Minister of Defense, and all the commanders of the five zones including General Haile  Samuel “China”; General Filipos; General Omar Hassen “Tewil”; General Gerezgheri Andemariam “Wuchu” and his close acquaintance Samson, the building contractor. 

Like many of their drinking sessions, this one deteriorated into a fist fight. This time, it was “China” who beat up “Wuchu.”  When his friend, Samson, attempted to break up the fight, he, too, was subjected to China’s beating. The defense minister, General Sebhat Ephrem, who is a close friend of “China” observed, but did not attempt to break up, the fight. Sources indicate that General Hadish Ephrem was present at this drinking session but left before the fight.

People in Asmara say that it is customary for “manly” generals to argue and fight but that they should have this outside the public view—at Denden club.  Ironically, General Sebhat Ephrem recently addressed Eritrean youth in Keren regarding their heavy responsibility in developing Eritrea, by relying on “shared values.”