Mussie Tesfamichael

Mussie Tesfamichael was an Eritrean revolutionary and political activist, known primarily for his role as a founding member of the Menqa movement within the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) during the early 1970s.

Mussie Tesfamicheal
Born	c. 1940s Eritrea
Died	(1974-08-11)August 11, 1974 Sahel, Eritrea
Education	Prince Mekonnen Secondary School (formerly Scuola Vittorio)
Occupations	Political activist Member of the Eritrean Liberation Front/People’s Forces

Early life

Little is known about Mussie’s early years, but he attended Scuola Vittorio (later Prince Mekonnen Secondary School) in Eritrea in the mid-1960s. There, he befriended future liberation leaders, including Isaias Afwerki, Woldesus Ammar, Michael Gaber, and others.

Activism and the Menqa Movement

By 1973, Mussie emerged as a key figure within a left-wing reform faction inside the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF)/Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), known as the Menqa (“bats"). This clandestine group so named for its secret nighttime meetings pushed for Marxist ideology and more democratic decision-making within the EPLF. They proposed a 12-point reform plan aimed at exposing abuses and democratizing the movement.

Repression and execution

Isaias Afwerki once close to Mussie responded harshly. In late 1973 and early 1974, the Menqa members were rounded up, subjected to brutal interrogation, and publicly denounced in internal EPLF publications such as The destructive movement of 1973.^[1] In total, around 11 members were arrested, imprisoned in deplorable conditions (described as cramped “dog‑kennel” huts), whipped, and questioned. During this crackdown, many were executed and Mussie was reportedly executed on 11 August 1974.^[2]

Legacy

The fate of Mussie Tesfamichael and the Menqa movement is widely seen as a grim turning point in Eritrean liberation history. The harsh suppression of dissent foreshadowed the authoritarian character of EPLF/Eritrean leadership under Isaias. Scholars and dissidents argue that the elimination of the Menqa highlighted a contradiction within Eritrea’s liberation and subsequent ruling narrative.