Abba Jofir

Moti Abba Jofir Abba Dula was king of the Gibe Kingdom of Jimma (reigned 1932). He was the grandson of Abba Jifar II.

When Abba Jifar II grew senile in his later years, Abba Jofir attempted to seize the throne of the Kingdom of Jimma. However, Emperor Haile Selassie responded quickly and sent military forces against Abba Jofir, and brought Abba Jofir back to Addis Ababa, where he was imprisoned.^[1]

Following the Italian invasion, he was made governor over part of the Italian East African province of Galla-Sidamo. He proved useful to the occupiers, helping with Italian propaganda broadcasts to the Arabic-speaking world; in return, they allowed him a bodyguard of ten armed men, a privilege given to few Ethiopians during the occupation.^[2] Following the Italian defeat in 1942, he was put back into prison. Herbert S. Lewis described his situation in 1960: "having been given amnesty, he lives in what is left of the crumbling palace in Jiren, his movements circumscribed and watched."^[3]

Notes

^ Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time, A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p. 208
^ Alberto Sbacchi, "Italy and the Treatment of the Ethiopian Aristocracy, 1937-1940", International Journal of African Historical Studies, 10 (1977), p. 231
^ Herbert S. Lewis, A Galla Monarchy: Jimma Abba Jifar, Ethiopia (Madison, Wisconsin, 1965), p. 46.

Preceded by Abba Jifar II	Kingdom of Jimma	Succeeded by none

Persondata
Name	Abba Jofir
Alternative names
Short description	King of Kingdom of Jimma
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death