On 17 May 2019 Addis Standard published an opinion arguing that the Amharic phrase Hige Mengist, usually translated as constitution, is a poor match for a democratic constitution born from popular bargaining.
The writer noted that Ethiopia’s successive Hige Mengists were granted by sitting rulers, starting with Haile Selassie’s 1931 charter, rather than preceding and creating government the way a constitutional compact is supposed to do. He suggested alternatives such as Hige Hager, law of the country, for a freer founding document.
The essay landed during Abiy Ahmed’s early reform talk, when many Ethiopians were debating whether the 1995 federal constitution should be rewritten or merely reinterpreted.
Kept as constitutional politics archive, the piece is useful because it separates word games from power: who grants the highest law still matters more than how textbooks translate it.
Sources: Addis Standard