Abba Jofir

Moti Abba Jobir Abba Dula is a member of the Oromo people, a majority tribe in Ethiopia, and the last King of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma (reigned 1932). He was the grandson of Abba Jifar II. He aligned himself with the Italian occupation of Ethiopia.

Abba Jobir
King of the Kingdom of Jimma
Reign	1932
Predecessor	Abba Jifar II
Full name Moti Abba Jobir
Dynasty	Kingdom of Jimma

Reign

When King Abba Jifar II grew senile in his later years, Abba Jobir ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Jimma. His reign was, however, short lived because, in 1932, his letters of correspondence with the Italians was discovered. The Italians were recruiting people to rebel within Ethiopia in hopes of fomenting division before the impending invasion. After the discovery of his letters, he was summoned to Addis Ababa, charged with Treason and imprisoned. In 1937, the Italians entered the city of Addis Ababa and briefly occupied it. During this time, they Freed their ally and installed him as Sultan of the Italian Province of Galla-Sidamo. He collaborated extensively with them and hunted resistance fighters with the aid of the Italians. .[1]

During the Italian occupation, Abba Jobir released broadcasts to the Arabic-speaking world, and traveled with a bodyguard of ten armed men, mainly due to the increased threat of assassination against him by Ethiopian Patriots of Kaffa/Jimma Province.[2] Following the Italian defeat in 1942, Abba Jobir was imprisoned again, and later pardoned by Haile Selassie I.

Notes

1. Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 208
2. Alberto Sbacchi, "Italy and the Treatment of the Ethiopian Aristocracy, 1937-1940", International Journal of African Historical Studies, 10 (1977), p. 231