Veteran correspondent Getachew Tedla, whose career spanned more than four decades, has died aged 73. Getachew covered certain major news events, such as the Eritrean–Ethiopian war of 1998–2000 from the war front. He also reported on some major events such as the death of the former leader Meles Zenawi, the ascension of Hailemariam and Abiy Ahmed, the political assassinations, including the head of the army. He witnessed turbulent times in the country, political instability, and natural disasters, but throughout he had remained cool, calm, and collected, his friends and colleagues say.
Getachew was born into a notable family of 11 children in Addis Ababa in 1947. His father, Dejazmatch Tedla Hailegiorgis Woldemichael was a notable personality during Emperor Haile Selassie’s time and his grandfather Bitwedded Haile Giorgis (Abba Mulato) was foreign minister in the reign of Emperor Menelik II (1889 – 1913). His father and grandfather received a French education along with a traditional Ethiopian church education. Following his family’s tradition, Getachew attended his primary and secondary education at Lycée franco-éthiopien Guébré-Mariam School.
Getachew served as a translator for the Ethiopian troops deployed in the Congo Peace Keeping Mission during Congo’s civil war (1960 to 1965) before beginning his media career in the 70s. He joined Radio Voice of the Gospel, later Radio Ethiopia International, where he prepared and presented news and current affairs programs for the French Language Desks. While there he used to also to file for Radio France International (RFI). But it was more as a correspondent for Deutsche Welle where he had a long career. There he became a familiar voice for 35 years featuring on the Amharic and French Service. Even while at DW, he continued dipping his fingers into a number of media pies, working for several different companies at the same time such as Channel Africa and Africa n°1.
Former Reuters Correspondent Tsegaye Tadesse described Getachew as a “wonderful friend, polite and great fun”.
He said: “When I have got to know Getachew, I recall him to be a friendly, goodhearted man. He was compassionate and ready to help people in need. He was willing to fulfill his social responsibility.”
Veteran journalist Leakemariam Demssie described Getachew as a “hardworking, warm, and surefooted journalist.” He was working and filing as recently as three weeks ago, even though he was unwell, Leakemarim recalled. “Getachew was a spiritual person, he even wrote a book to help people grow in faith,” he added.
Asegedech Yiberta, former correspondent of the DW said: “He was enthusiastic, diligent, respectful and generous. He worked hard to pass his passion and wisdom on to new journalists entering the industry. He helped, mentored, and supported so many people, junior reporters alike.”
