Baaroo Tumsaa
Baro Tumsa (1938–1978) was a
phaarmacist, lawyer and Oromo
nationalist and political activist in
Ethiopia. He was the younger brother
of the famed Reverend Gudina Tumsa
and was one of the Founding Congress
of the Oromo Liberation Front. [1]
Early life
Baro Tumsa was born in 1938, from his
father Tumsa Silga and his mother
Nasise Chirato, at Boji Karkaro in the
Wollega Region of Oromia. His parents
died while he was still very young and
so he was brought up by his elder
brother, Gudina Tumsa. [2] He had one
sister (Rahel) and two brothers (Gudina
and Nangassa).
Ethiopia. He was the younger brother
of the famed Reverend Gudina Tumsa
and was one of the Founding Congress
of the Oromo Liberation Front. [1]
Early life
Baro Tumsa was born in 1938, from his
father Tumsa Silga and his mother
Nasise Chirato, at Boji Karkaro in the
Wollega Region of Oromia. His parents
died while he was still very young and
so he was brought up by his elder
brother, Gudina Tumsa. [2] He had one
sister (Rahel) and two brothers (Gudina
and Nangassa).
Education and political
activism
EDUCATION
activism
EDUCATION
Baro Tumsa completed primary
education at his birthplace Boji Karkaro and part of his secondary education in the town of Nekemte, Wollega, and later in Bishoftu, Shoa. Subsequently,he joined the then Haile Selassie I University in Finfinne and graduated with BSc in Pharmacy, in 1966. Baro was mentored and encouraged to study
Law by the likes of Dhinsa Lepisa, and
Baqala Nadhi (both lawyers) from the
Macha and Tumsa Self-help Association
and, he re-joined Haile Selassie I
University Law School, where he
completed his legal education. His LLM
thesis entitled "Decentralisation and
Nation Building" remains a seminal
piece on the issue of national question
in the Ethiopian Empire. (now Addis
Ababa University ). [3]
POLITICAL ACTIVISM
Membership of the MTA:
The Macha and Tulama Self-Help
Association (an organisation which was
banned in 1966, and some of its leaders
were jailed or killed) attracted Oromo
students from Haile Selassie I
University, including Baro Tumsa (the
Chairman of the University Students'
Union), Lieutenant Mamo Mazamir,
Ibsa Gutama, Mekonnen Gallan, Taha
Ali Abdi, and many others. With the
exception of Mamo Mazamir, who was
martyred in 1969 the rest were
founding members of the Oromo
Liberation Front (OLF) in 1974. Besides
Baro Tumsa, Lieutenant Mamo
Mazamir was among the university
students who contributed to the
radicalisation of the Association. This
establishes a direct link between the
transition from the Macha and Tulama
Association to the OLF (Hassen 1996:
75).
Leader of Student Movement:
Baro Tumsa, as the Chairman of
Ethiopian Student Union, and his fellow
Oromo, the then President of the
Parliament secretly arranged for the
staging of the first ever 'Land to the
Tiller' demonstration against the Haile
Selassie regime. Baro Tumsa, cognisant
of the fact that the Oromo are usurped
their ancestral land by the colonial
settlers, is credited for the coining of
the slogan 'Land to the Tiller'. The
university students not only energized
the movement but also raised the
famous slogan of 'Land to the Tiller'
which became the binding
revolutionary slogan for the Ethiopian
student movements both at home and
abroad. From that day until the
unseating of the imperial government,
this slogan was never missing from the
almost annual event of student anti-
government demonstrations (Lata
1999: 191-192). Today, after nearly a
half-century, the new generation of
Oromo students are railing under the
slogan 'the matter of land is the matter
of life' in their resistance against farm-
land grabbing.
Organiser:
Most above all Baro Tumsa is admired
for two things: First, by his deep and
profound understanding of the Oromo
cause as a colonial question and his
leadership in organising the Oromo
was a distinct political force. Second of
all, he is revered for his unequalled
natural talent of bringing people
together. He was singlehandedly
instrumental in bringing Oromo from
all regions and background together
and cementing the their unity. Among
the Addis Ababa-based underground
movement, the brothers Rev. Gudina
Tumsa and Baro Tumsa played a very
crucial role in keeping alive the spirit
of resistance (Zoga 1993: 300-301).
They both gave their lives for the
Oromo cause.
Ideologue and Founder of the OLF:
In fact, Baro Tumsa was instrumental
in the formation of the Oromo
Liberation Front. It was he who
organized a secret conference in Addis
Ababa in December 1973. Among the
participants, Hussein Sura (Sheik
Hussen), the leader of Beirut-based
organization, Elemo Qilixxu, the leader
of Aden-based Oromo National
Liberation, and Baker Yusuf, came from
the Middle East. Several individuals
from different regions of Oromia also
participated in that conference, out of
which the OLF was formed in early
1974. According to Olana Zoga, the
author of History of Macha and Tulama
Association, under the leadership of
Baro Tumsa, underground members of
the Association which gave rise to the
OLF took advantage of the February
1974 Revolution and contributed to the
overthrow of Haile Sellassie's regime in
four ways: First, its members
effectively used the limited freedom of
the press, which flourished in Ethiopia
from March to June 1974 for the
purpose of exposing Oromo colonial
experience. Second, its parliamentary
members regularly challenged many of
the regime's policies. Third, its
members conducted agitation among
the university and high school
students. Fourth and most important,
the underground members of the
military police forces were
instrumental in organizing the
committee of the men in uniform (Derg
or Dergue in Amharic) that overthrew
the Emperor in September 1974 Zoga
1993: 301- 302). From this aspect it is
very clear that the OLF grew out of the
underground Macha and Tulama
Association, and it is firmly rooted in
Oromo national consciousness and it
bases its ideological fire on Oromo
nationalism. Consequently, it can be
said that the emergence of a national
movement indicates that a population
or social group has reached a new
stage on the road to nationhood: the
transition to political action. The
nation, or the sections of a population
that consider themselves to be a
nation, attempt to create their own
state (Alter 1989: 22-23).
Freedom Fighter in the Mountains of
Gara Mulata:
Dedicated and visionary leader Baro
Tumsa left behind the comfort of his
privileged life in Finfinne to join the
nascent guerrilla force of the OLF in
the eastern command in 1978 and
sacrificed his life for the freedom of the
Oromo nation. By then he was married
and a father of three children. He
comes from a privileged background
and already an established member of
the urban elite educated and well
connected middle class. However, he
swapped these luxuries for the
hardships in the mountains of Oromia
for the sake of the freedom of his
people whom he loved with all his
heart and mind. The circumstances of
his death remains unclear to this day.
Reference : Wikipedia, Google ,Social medias
education at his birthplace Boji Karkaro and part of his secondary education in the town of Nekemte, Wollega, and later in Bishoftu, Shoa. Subsequently,he joined the then Haile Selassie I University in Finfinne and graduated with BSc in Pharmacy, in 1966. Baro was mentored and encouraged to study
Law by the likes of Dhinsa Lepisa, and
Baqala Nadhi (both lawyers) from the
Macha and Tumsa Self-help Association
and, he re-joined Haile Selassie I
University Law School, where he
completed his legal education. His LLM
thesis entitled "Decentralisation and
Nation Building" remains a seminal
piece on the issue of national question
in the Ethiopian Empire. (now Addis
Ababa University ). [3]
POLITICAL ACTIVISM
Membership of the MTA:
The Macha and Tulama Self-Help
Association (an organisation which was
banned in 1966, and some of its leaders
were jailed or killed) attracted Oromo
students from Haile Selassie I
University, including Baro Tumsa (the
Chairman of the University Students'
Union), Lieutenant Mamo Mazamir,
Ibsa Gutama, Mekonnen Gallan, Taha
Ali Abdi, and many others. With the
exception of Mamo Mazamir, who was
martyred in 1969 the rest were
founding members of the Oromo
Liberation Front (OLF) in 1974. Besides
Baro Tumsa, Lieutenant Mamo
Mazamir was among the university
students who contributed to the
radicalisation of the Association. This
establishes a direct link between the
transition from the Macha and Tulama
Association to the OLF (Hassen 1996:
75).
Leader of Student Movement:
Baro Tumsa, as the Chairman of
Ethiopian Student Union, and his fellow
Oromo, the then President of the
Parliament secretly arranged for the
staging of the first ever 'Land to the
Tiller' demonstration against the Haile
Selassie regime. Baro Tumsa, cognisant
of the fact that the Oromo are usurped
their ancestral land by the colonial
settlers, is credited for the coining of
the slogan 'Land to the Tiller'. The
university students not only energized
the movement but also raised the
famous slogan of 'Land to the Tiller'
which became the binding
revolutionary slogan for the Ethiopian
student movements both at home and
abroad. From that day until the
unseating of the imperial government,
this slogan was never missing from the
almost annual event of student anti-
government demonstrations (Lata
1999: 191-192). Today, after nearly a
half-century, the new generation of
Oromo students are railing under the
slogan 'the matter of land is the matter
of life' in their resistance against farm-
land grabbing.
Organiser:
Most above all Baro Tumsa is admired
for two things: First, by his deep and
profound understanding of the Oromo
cause as a colonial question and his
leadership in organising the Oromo
was a distinct political force. Second of
all, he is revered for his unequalled
natural talent of bringing people
together. He was singlehandedly
instrumental in bringing Oromo from
all regions and background together
and cementing the their unity. Among
the Addis Ababa-based underground
movement, the brothers Rev. Gudina
Tumsa and Baro Tumsa played a very
crucial role in keeping alive the spirit
of resistance (Zoga 1993: 300-301).
They both gave their lives for the
Oromo cause.
Ideologue and Founder of the OLF:
In fact, Baro Tumsa was instrumental
in the formation of the Oromo
Liberation Front. It was he who
organized a secret conference in Addis
Ababa in December 1973. Among the
participants, Hussein Sura (Sheik
Hussen), the leader of Beirut-based
organization, Elemo Qilixxu, the leader
of Aden-based Oromo National
Liberation, and Baker Yusuf, came from
the Middle East. Several individuals
from different regions of Oromia also
participated in that conference, out of
which the OLF was formed in early
1974. According to Olana Zoga, the
author of History of Macha and Tulama
Association, under the leadership of
Baro Tumsa, underground members of
the Association which gave rise to the
OLF took advantage of the February
1974 Revolution and contributed to the
overthrow of Haile Sellassie's regime in
four ways: First, its members
effectively used the limited freedom of
the press, which flourished in Ethiopia
from March to June 1974 for the
purpose of exposing Oromo colonial
experience. Second, its parliamentary
members regularly challenged many of
the regime's policies. Third, its
members conducted agitation among
the university and high school
students. Fourth and most important,
the underground members of the
military police forces were
instrumental in organizing the
committee of the men in uniform (Derg
or Dergue in Amharic) that overthrew
the Emperor in September 1974 Zoga
1993: 301- 302). From this aspect it is
very clear that the OLF grew out of the
underground Macha and Tulama
Association, and it is firmly rooted in
Oromo national consciousness and it
bases its ideological fire on Oromo
nationalism. Consequently, it can be
said that the emergence of a national
movement indicates that a population
or social group has reached a new
stage on the road to nationhood: the
transition to political action. The
nation, or the sections of a population
that consider themselves to be a
nation, attempt to create their own
state (Alter 1989: 22-23).
Freedom Fighter in the Mountains of
Gara Mulata:
Dedicated and visionary leader Baro
Tumsa left behind the comfort of his
privileged life in Finfinne to join the
nascent guerrilla force of the OLF in
the eastern command in 1978 and
sacrificed his life for the freedom of the
Oromo nation. By then he was married
and a father of three children. He
comes from a privileged background
and already an established member of
the urban elite educated and well
connected middle class. However, he
swapped these luxuries for the
hardships in the mountains of Oromia
for the sake of the freedom of his
people whom he loved with all his
heart and mind. The circumstances of
his death remains unclear to this day.
Reference : Wikipedia, Google ,Social medias
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