Local History of Ethiopia Jima - Jimonyetta © Bernhard Lindahl (2005)

jima (O) Catha edulis, see jimma below

GDF95c Jima 08/34 [LM]
GDU42 Jima (Gima) 10°22'/34°35' 1314 m, north of Asosa 10/34 [Gz]
HCR42 Jima, see Jimma
HDJ15 Jima 09°13'/37°05' 2028 m, south of Haratu 09/37 [Gz]
HDJ25 Jima 09°17'/37°06' 2581 m, south of Haratu 09/37 [Gz]
HDK56 Jima 09°32'/38°06' 1770 m 09/38 [AA Gz]
JCN72 Jima 07°55'/40°02' 2420 m 07/40 [Gz]
jima ali, cf Ali as first part of name
KCR12 Jima Ali (Iima Ali) (seasonal waterhole) 07/46 [WO Gz]
07°19'/46°48'
JDJ04 Jima Bero 09°05'/41°58' 1720 m, east of Grawa 09/41 [Gz]
HDF90 Jima Gebriel (church) 08°58'/39°23' 08/39 [Gz]
east of Chefe Donsa
HDD26 Jima Gostan (centre of a sub-district in 1960s) 08/38 [x]
HES47 Jima Kidane Mihret (Ghina Chid. Meret) 3094 m 13/38 [LM WO]
see under Mekane Birhan
GDF84 Jima Nunu 08°57'/34°45' 1653 m 08/34 [Gz]

JCG73 Jimala 06°59'/40°07' 2633 m 06/40 [Gz]

jimata (Arabic,O) Friday; jimmat (A,T) sinew, tendon, nerve
HDC90 Jimata (Gimata) 09°02'/36°40' 1924 m 09/36 [LM WO Gz]
HDH07 Jimata, Gebel (Gimmata, Gimate) (mountain) 09/36 [Gz WO]
09°07'/36°23' 1685 m
?? Jimawanyeta, a parish with village Yamaret ../.. [Ch]
HD... Jimbe, see Gimbi
jimeda: jimado, a pagan ceremony of Bantu people
living in Somali-dominated country
JDJ25 Jimeda (Gimeda), see under Harar 09/42 [+ WO]
HDA28 Jimeta (Gimat) 08/35 [LM WO]
HDU76 Jimete 10°37'/39°55' 1399 m 10/39 [Gz]
HDE62 Jimjima (village) 08/38 [x]

Jimma (historical state)

Sources used by Mohammed Hassen: "The Oromo sources come essentially from three documents.
The first is the manuscript of Abba Jobir Abba Dula, the last king of Jimma. This document contains
recent history, oral traditions, as well as fantastic legends of bygone ages. -- The second source is
the Jimma Interview Programme sponsored by the Addis Ababa University in 1974 and conducted
by a group of university students. -- covers all five Gibe states. -- includes the economic aspect of
the Gibe states. The third Oromo source is the unpublished manuscript of Tasaw Merga, a modern
Oromo historian who conducted extensive oral interviews all over Oromo territory -- the sources we
have for Limmu-Ennarya and Jimma are far richer than what we have for the other three states. -- for
Jimma the traditions of the original state makers were adequately recorded and written down in the
nineteenth century.
The Jimma kingdom was founded upon the old kingdom of Bosha. It covered an area of
some 25,000 sq km. There was the river Omo to the east and south, the mountain Botor in
the north-east, and mountains of Limmu and Gomma to the north and west. Jimma itself
was plateau country, one of the most fertile regions of Ethiopia.
The first ruler is said to have been Abba Faro, who was followed by Magal, Rago, Jifar I,
Rebo, Boka, and Gomol (Gomo) who was the father of Jifar II.
1800s "Authentic history does not begin until the reign of Muhammed ibn Daud (1861-1934),
better known as Abba Jifar II, who succeeded to the throne at the age of fifteen."
"The king had the /Oromo/ title of moti as well as the more recently adopted one of
sultan, and the central part of his insignia was an armlet of gold."
[Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952 p 203]

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The state of Jimma was born out of the struggle beween two clans: the Badi and the
Diggo. The nucleus of the state was created by a Diggo man, named Abba Faro. He was
succeeded by his elder son Abba Magal. The Badi group lost in the struggle because of
the attacks of Abba Bagibo (1825-1861) against their land, reducing them to tributaries of
Limmu-Ennarya, and because the Badi lacked a single leadership. Abba Magal captured
the fertile land around the great market of Hirmata. This was the major step to the creation
of the kingdom of Jimma.
Abba Magal left the task of consolidation to his son, Sanna, who was a born warrior. He
had to dispute the succession to his father's authority with his brother Abba Rago. Sanna
easily defeated him and imprisoned him, rather than killing his brother. Before embarking
on a war of conquest, Sanna created a new army. His first decisive victory was over one
of the Abba Dulas, and it assured him undisputed supremacy in the region of Hirmata. He
took over the massera of the defeated Badi leader and made it the seat of his kingdom.
1830s Sanna slowly expanded the frontiers of his territory until he defeated all the rival Abba
Dulas, and by 1830 a new kingdom of Jimma-Kakka had been established. In the course
of the war Sanna became known by the name of Jifar, after his famous horse. Gradually
Abba Jifar became both the name of the king and that of the kingdom.
Abba Jifar embraced Islam for political and economic motives rather than for religious
motives. An economic conflict developed between Jimma and Limmu-Ennarya, and it
dominated the politics of the region for three decades. A number of Muslim traders left
Limmu-Ennarya and came to Jimma.
Abba Jifar I ruled up to 1855, and "left behind to his successor a powerful kingdom, a
new religion, much wealth, and a strong ambition to dominate the politics of the Gibe
region." [Mohammed 1994 p 111-112]
The explorer Cecchi names Jimma as the richest of the Gibe states, the country where
agriculture reached the highest state of development. The forests presented a formidable
obstacle to the Oromo when they first arrived in the region. They soon started massive
clearance, towards the late 1700s and early 1800s, preparing the way for extensive
farming. This would imply that agricultural development preceded the settlement of
Jabarti traders in Jimma in the 1830s, perhaps by more than half a century. The plough,
drawn by a pair of oxen, was the most vital farm implement in the region. Jimma, which
lacked coffee in the early 1840s, became a great coffee country.
[Mohammed 1994 p 116-118]
1840s By the beginning of 1843 Abba Jifar occupied the land between the Gibe region and the
famous market of Soddo. This was Abba Jifar's first major step towards opening an
independent caravan route to the northern markets. An attempted conquest of Janjero in
the same year ended in a disaster for the Jimma forces. In 1843 the Janjero made a try to
fight outside their fortifications, but this proved to be overconfidence and they were
soundly beaten at that time. Abba Jifar captured the king of Janjero and sold many of his
relatives into slavery. The struggle between Janjero and Jimma continued for the next four
decades. One conquest in 1847 opened up for Abba Jifar the independent caravan route
bwetween his country and the northern markets. For the next eight years Abba Jifar
fought time and again against the other four states of the Gibe region.
[Mohammed 1994 p 183-184]
"After a long struggle, Badi Folla /related to the Jimma-Badi tribes/ was conquered by
Jimma in 1847. Abba Bagibo, failing to overcome the resistance of the Agalo and the
other tribes to the east, realized that the race was lost and decided to change his tactics.
The renewed war against the Jimma was stopped and the Kulo allies of Enarea were
called off from the Jimma borders. The prohibition on traders going beyond Sakka was
abolished, and all monopolies but the one on gold were done away with. Notwithstanding
Abba Bagibo's realistic policy, Enarea began to decline. The death of Abba Bagibo in
1861, the rise of his untalented and fanatic Muslim son, the growth of Jimma and the
opening of the old route from Kaffa through Gumma to Gojjam hastened this decline."
[M Abir, Ethiopia - the era of the princes, UK 1968 p 92-93]
1850s "However, Jimma too had undergone a very serious crisis. Abba Jifar Sana died in 1855

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and after a short struggle for power was succeeded by his younger son Abba Rebu. The
reign of Abba Rebu was marked by excessive cruelty and tyranny. He succeeded in
alienating all the rulers of the Galla monarchies and was finally killed in 1859 in a battle
against the united army of Enarea, Gumma and Gera. Upon his death, the government of
the greatly weakened Jimma passed into the hands of Abba Boko, Abba Jifar Sana's
brother."
[Abir 1968 p 93]
Jimma Abba Jifar had the largest population in the Gibe region, estimated at 150,000 in
the late 1850s.
"The slave population in Jimma was probably larger than the free population of that state.
Abba Jifar II alone owned ten thousand slaves. The wealthy men of Jimma owned a
thousand or more each. Even peasants who only had a small plot of land may have owned
one or two slaves." [Tasaw Merga, Senna Umatta Oromo, manuscript 1976]
"These conclusions are untenable on two counts. First, while it is true that Abba Jifar was
notorious both for trade in and ownership of many thousands of slaves -- not everyone,
from king to poor peasant, owned slaves in Jimma. -- The nobility owned slaves as they
owned cattle. -- though slaves were highly desirable, they were an expensive commodity
quite beyond the means of poor peasants. The second point is that the Gibe region was an
important centre from which slaves were sent to /many destinations/. This export of slaves
militated against any large increase of the settled slave population in the Gibe region."
[rejoinder by Mohammed Hassen to the above]
Hirmata, Jimma's famous market town, eclipsed Saqqa in the second half of the
nineteenth century. The Thursday market of Hirmata was the greatest in all southern
Abyssinia. [Mohammed 1994 p 135]
Abba Jifar suddenly died in 1855. After a short dispute over the succession, one of his
younger sons, Abba Rebu, seized power at the age of twenty. He was disliked by the
wealthy men of the land and was too eager to confront his neighbours by force. He found
himself fighting against the four states united, but it was one of his own men who
wounded him mortally so that he died on the next day in 1859. [Mohammed 1994 p 185]
1860s Abba Rebu's infant son was bypassed in favour of an old man named Abba Boka, a
brother of Abba Jifar I. Abba Boka (1859-1861) was a man of peace.
It was only after 1860 that Islam won any considerable ground in Jimma. The first two
kings of Jimma were more interested in expanding the frontiers of their state than in
spreading Islam among their people. It was only the third king, Abba Boka, who devoted
his short reign to the cause of Islam.
Abba Gomol, the son and successor of Abba Boka, was given a daughter of the king
of Gumma in marriage. Out of this marriage the most famous king of Jimma, Abba Jifar
II, was born in 1861. [Mohammed 1994 p 185]
The Sultan Abba Gomol, father of Abba Jifar II, accepted Islam about the middle of the
1800s and forced his pagan subject to a nominal profession.
[Trimingham p 205]
1880s In 1882 Menilek started his 16 years of campaigns to subjugate the peoples of the south-
west. Abba Jifar II submitted without resistance and was granted full internal autonomy.
He has been regarded as a strict Muslim and 'protector of the faith', but he was also a big
slave holder with perhaps 10,000 slaves. He allowed slave-trade openly till about 1900
and secretly till well into the 1920s. He promoted coffee-growing and had large personal
wealth.
[Arén 1978 p 262-268]
"When Menelik extended his rule over Jimma in 1883 Abba Jifar was left on the throne
because he submitted quietly and, except for one period in prison because he was
suspected of helping Hasan Injamo of Hadiya, he was able to maintain good relations with
Menilek."
Since Jimma submitted to Menilek peacefully, it was allowed full local autonomy and
became the last and most important of the monarchial Oromo states.
"Abba Jifar was zealous in developing Jimma commercially, he lightened taxes and

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customs dues and especially facilitated the work of the naggadis or slave-merchants so
the Jimma became the chief slave-market for south-western Ethiopia, where the light
brown Galla girls -- could be puchased."
[Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952 p 203]
"Durant cette absence /de Ménélik II en 1885/, Abba Djiffar ayant manifesté quelques
signes d'insoumission, fut destitué par Ménélik et condamné à l'exil dans la province
d'Ankober, à Liomba. Grâce aux supplications et aux prières adressées à Ménélik par la
mère /Guéné Guimiti/ et la femme d'Abba Djiffar, celui-ci, après un emprisonnement de
huit mois, fut libéré et nommé Gouverneur du Jimmah."
[Zervos 1936 p 341]
"The country was divided -- into seventy districts koro, each governed by an Abba Koro,
and the whole area was surrounded by a thorn fence, gudema, pierced by gates, kela.
Abba Jifar tried to make Jimma a centre of Islamic studies -- and encouraged fuqara to
settle there and teach."
[Trimingham p 204]
"Le chef de sa Maison militaire fut, pendant plus de trente ans, le Fitaourari Belaton. Les
quatre femmes légitimes d'Abba Djiffar furent: Guéné Limiti, Guéné Mingiti, Guéné
Sapertiti et Guéné Arssit. Il laissa 25 enfants. -- Le premier Européen qui lui rendit visite
fut le Com. Dulio qui y revint en 1930."
[Zervos p 342]
There is reason to believe that Abba Jifar II (1878-1932) contributed to Islamic education
in his land. By the 1880s Jimma claimed to have sixty madras (schools of higher
education). If this claim is true, it is an amazing achievement for Jimma. Perhaps this
explains why Jimma became the most famous centre of Islamic learning for all Oromo in
the Horn of Africa. Even today, along with Daawwe in Wollo, Jimma is regarded as the
best centre of Islamic learning in the Horn of Africa. [Mohammed 1994 p 158-159]
1900s "Al-Hajj Yusif of Jimma, who was initiated /in the Tijaniyya/ whilst on pilgrimage in
Mecca by the West African khalifa, Alfa Hashim, introduced this order into the Jimma
Abba Jifar kingdom early in the present century. He seems to have been mainly
responsible for its present influence. He gave the order to Sultan Abba Dula, father of the
present /1950s/ Sultan Abba Jawbir. -- Yusif's son, Ahmad Nur, is the present khalifa."
"E. Cerulli writes: 'It may appear remarkable to find establishments of the Tijaniyya of
southern Oran (Algeria) at Jimma, but it was brought here by a shaikh coming from the
Sudan and received a most favourable reception, so much so that today it has become the
most authoritative. Whilst West African Tijani influence from Dambidollo (Sayo)
undoutedly came into Jimma before /the 1900s/, the writer's own inquiries lead him to
believe that the chief reason for its rapid spread was the work of al-Hajj Yusif and official
recognition by the sultans."
[J S Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia (Oxf. Univ. Press) 1952 p 246]
The Sammaniyya "has also some followers in south-western Ethiopia where it was
introduced by a trader descendant of Shaikh Ahmad at-Tayyib called Sharif Husain as late
as 1920. -- His son Muhammad /in the 1950s/ is khalifa in Jimma but he has not a strong
following."
[Trimingham 1952 p 247]
After Menilek's conquest, and shortly after Ras Gobana had been removed by him from
the administration of the Gibe region, there was a rebellion resulting in the termination of
four of the Gibe states. Only the kingdom of Jimma survived.
1910s Darley observed 12,000 slaves en route north through Jimma in 1913, which was possible
only because Lij Iyasu had undertaken major slaving expeditions to Gemira.
Jimma handled 2,000 slaves for Addis Abeba in 1911, 7,000 in 1912, and several
thousand a year into the 1920s. Well-known merchants like Muhammed Abdul were
promotors of slave trade across the Red Sea.
In Jimma the average price of a slave remained only marginally changed from the 1880s
to the late 1920s.
[12th Int Conf 1994 p 454]

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1930s "Haile Sellassie's government lost patience with the old man /Abba Jifar II/ and trumped
up charges that Jima was developing an army to challenge its authority. On 12 May
imperial troops invaded, and in July 1932, the emperor's son-in-law, the newly elevated
Ras Desta Demtew, was named governor, with Abba Jifar as titular ruler."
[Marcus 1994 p 135]
Sultan Abba Jifar died on 19 September 1934 at the age of 73 years. He had reigned since
the age of 15 during 54 years. Towards the end of his life he was severely handicapped
and almost paralysed.
[Zervos 1936]
"In his later years the old sultan retired from active rule and left government in the hands
of his grandson Abba Jawbir. In 1933 the Emperor appointed a governor to the Jimma
region, all effective power was taken away from the sultan and the open conduct of the
slave-trade suppressed."
"During the Italian occupation the sultan and chiefs welcomed the Italians who planned to
make Jimma the great trading-centre for the south. They built the town now called Jimma
(formerly Hirmata) and a great market centre some distance from the old Jiren where the
miserable 'palace' (masera) of the sultan is situated."
[Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952 p 204]
text Herbert S. Lewis, A Galla monarchy: Jimma Abba Jifar, Ethiopia 1830-1932,
Madison (Univ. of Wisconsin Press) 1965.

jimma (O?) 1. small tree, Catha edulis, the leaves of which

are chewed as chat/qat; 2. kind of shrub or small tree
with red "ears", Olinia usambarensis, somewhat similar to
the coffee tree
HCR42 Jimma (Jima, Gimma, Gima) 07/36 [Ro Ca MS WO]
(old name Hirmata)(Ger: Dschimma) 07/36 [Gu]
Jimma, MS: 07°40'/36°40' = HCR40, 1728/1750 m;
Jimma: Gz 07°40'/36°50' 1754 m
Within a radius of 10 km there are at km
9E Morova (village) 2035 m
4S Saracho (Saracio) (area) 1756 m
6SW Migira (Mighira) (area) 1846 m
9SW Bore, c1700 m
3W Malko (Malco) (village)
?? Kochi (Coci) (small market)
?? Tappa/?/ c1800 m
9NW Garuke (Garucche) (area)
7N Dallati (mountain) 2120 m
9N Muja (Muggia) (mountain)
5NE Baddabuna (hill) 2089 m
6NE Jiren (Giren, Jiran) 2022 m, see under this name directly
10NE Yebu (Yebo, Iebo) (area) 1912 m
geol In the region of Jimma town itself the surface rocks are all basaltic. The basalts are most
commonly rather coarse and holocrystalline, consisting of labradorite, augite, and
occasionally olivine, with little or no glass.
[Mohr, Geology 1961 p 137]
meteo Mean monthly rainfall in 1952-1957 was 210 mm or more in June, July, August, 180 mm
or more in April and September, and lowest with 11 mm in November.
1870s On 8 November 1877 four Oromo left the Swedish EFS mission station at M'kullo near
Massawa and accompanied a trading caravan inland. They were Negusie (about 40 years
of age), Yohannes (originally Feraj), Imanuel and Elizabet, and in EFS mission history it
is called "The First Galla Expedition". After eight years (!) a letter arrived to Massawa
telling that the members of the expedition had settled in Jimma.
They did not win over a single Muslim to the Gospel and on one occasion were nearly

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killed by fanatics in the town square, but the ruler of Jimma protected and supported
them. Negusie became a scribe of Abba Jifar, little by little acquired much land and freed
about 30 Oromo slave children who worked for him. Some Christian families from
Gojjam joined them, so that there was a little mission colony in Jimma.
[Bortom bergen /vol I/ Sthlm (EFS) 1953 p 121-125]
1880s In early 1883, Abba Jifar gave a site for a house to a little group of merchants headed by
Niguse Tashu. Their intention was to help the Swedish Evangelical Mission at Massawa
to establish a mission among the Oromo. Efforts had been started in 1877, but the first
Evangelical mission among the Oromo was not established until May 1884. Neguse and
his assistant Mihiret were the pioneers, more exactly at Jiren near present-day Jimma (see
also under Jiren).
[Arén 1978 p 262-268]
1900s A post route by mule from Addis Abeba to Jimma existed in 1904 and few places in the
south had that kind of service at that time.
A post office was opened within the period 1923-1932. The post used spelling
DJIMMAH (-1932-).
1932 On 6 May 1932 two government Pothez airplanes, piloted by P. Corriger and M.
Babitcheff, with M. Maignal as mechanic, flew from Addis Abeba to Jimma. After
a flight of one hour and a half they landed at 11:30 on a strip prepared on the plain of
Mandara. The Governer, Aba Jifar, received the aviators with presents, and in the evening
they were entertained by the merchant M.P. Zervos. Ethiopian chiefs had been
passengers, and passengers were also taken on the return flight the following day.
There were letters in the forward direction, and in the return direction air mail letters with
label PAR AVION from Jimma to A.A. were stamped 7 May 1932.
[Les nouvelles philateliques, no. 10, Juillet 1932 p 2, 5, 9]
There was also an airmail flight Addis Abeba to Jimma (written Djimmah on the postal
stamp) on 31 December 1932, with return on the same day. Another such flight was on 14
July 1934.
[Norman Cape 1982]
1935 Zervos estimated Hirmata to have a population of 15,000 in 1935 and writes that it had
been decided about 1934 to move the centre about 15 km away from Hiirmata and name it
Haile Selassie Ketema. It was to be composed of the villages Jiren, Kotzi and Mandassa.
In 1935 there was a telephone connection and weekly post service every Tuesday
afternoon.
[Zervos 1936]
Government officials in 1935:
governor was Dejazmach Wolde Manuel,
director of administration was Bajirond Wubishet,
director of municipality was Grazmach Gebre Yohannes,
treasurer general was Lij Wubesset Gebre Yohannes,
director of customs was Nagadras Dehni,
customs officials were Ato Worku Terfe (head) and Ato Bezabe,
another government official was Ato Seyum Haile Mariam.
Only Greece had a consul in Jimma, by name M, Zervos.
School director of Ecole de Mandara was Ato Wolde Giyorgis.
Zervos p 339-340 gives a list of 50 commercial firms established by 1935:
Seferian & Co. Ltd.
Zervos & Co.
Kevorkian frères
Petratos frères
J. & G. Kalogeroupoulos
Johannes Israëlian
G. Sgolombis
Kegam Israëlian
G. M. Mohammedally & Co.

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Goolamally & Co.

Bedroudin Taibally
Said Mohtar
Mohamed Baissa
Michel Kazasis
J. Lixouriatos
N. Simatos
Sp. Xydias
A. Gopsis
M. Pastaccaldi
Avedis Atsyan
V. Papazian
Fidaaly Moula Ibrahim
Husseinbhay Mothabay
Abdulhay Moolla Goulamally
Fidahussein Abdulhussein
Mohamedally Samsoudin
Rajabally Abdulhussein
Mohamehay Abdulhussein
Hassanbhay Abdulkyoum
Abbasbhay Akbarally
Taybally Sarafally
Kidabhay Abdulhussein
Fidahussein & Co.
Mohamedhussein Katimbhai
Fidahussein Gullmhussein
Asgarally
Vallabhas
Jashbhay Mathrubhay
Champklal Juthhabhay
Sitaram
Firikamalal Mulchad
Mohamed Sadli
Mohamed Abdullata Abtad
Aboud Mohamed Omar
Moh'd Omar Abar
Sayid Omar Safi
Afmed Balodan
Sayid Adrouss
Ibrahim Youssef
Ijar Sayed
One-third of these are said to be merchants from the local population.
(In the 1967 telephone directory the only name possibly re-found
from the above list is Asgarally Gulamale.)
Seferian was an export-import firm founded in 1928 and
having its head office in Khartoum. Zervos & Cie was an export firm
founded in 1918.
There was also a branch office of Akbarally Abdulhussein & Co.,
an export-import firm founded in 1911, and an agency
of Karam & Frère founded in 1916.
The production of rope was a handicraft in Jimma, the products of which
were distributed all over Ethiopia.
Through the Consolata missionaries Jimma was among the few Ethiopian towns where
the art of burning bricks had been learnt before the Italian time.
1936 There were several small Shewan garrisons scattered throughout the south-west - the

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largest of them, at Jimma, already under attack by the people of that city in the second
half of 1936.
[Mockler 1984 p 164]
Jimma (Gimma) officially became named chief town of Governo dei Gálla e Sidáma
in June 1936.
The Italian occupation in reality started on 18 November 1936 through colonna
Princivalle.
"It became essential for the Italians to drive their second prong home. On 3 November
Graziani sent out a mechanized column under Colonel Princivalle down the Jimma road.
The Colonel's orders were to link up with Abba Jobir en route -- and seize Jimma. It took
the column three days to cover thirty miles, and on the third day they were attacked by an
almost forgotten enemy, Dejaz Balcha.
The old Galla had a lifetime of blood and cruelty behind him. As a boy he had lain on his
first battlefield castrated by the conquering Amhara -- His loyalties were not to Tafari the
son of Makonnen but to Menelik his master and the old Empire. Not for Balcha Abba
Nefso the defeat, exile, or submission -- He must have foreseen that this would be his last
battlefield, as with his miserable band of two or three hundred men he opposed the
mechanized columns of his old enemies from Europe --
According to one version -- When the fighting and the firing were over, he sent word to
the Italians that he wished to surrender. Two Italian officers and a priest whom he had
known went, with an escort, to receive his surrender. They found him sitting alone.
Unsuspectingly, they went forward, only to see in the last moments of their own lives the
ferocious old man draw a machine-gun from the folds of his shamma - dying as he had
lived in a hail of bullets and a welter of blood, taking to Hell or Heaven with him three of
the hated ferengi invaders."
[Mockler 1984 p 166-167]
1937 Italian labour administration was formalized on 22 January 1937 when Uffici del lavoro
were established in three provincial towns, among them Jimma.
[L'industria in A.O.I., 1939]
An Italian governor arrived by air on 13 February 1937. [Guida 1938]
The main post offices of the Italians were opened 19 May 1937 and 1 March 1938 and
there was also a Gimma telegrafo functioning in 1937. The three offices were closed 21
June 1941 because British troops arrived.
[Philatelic source]
Blatta Tekle (or Takelé, in January 1937?) retired to Jimma and stayed there for a brief
period, during which he was at first mistaken for their absent Emperor by the people, and
then he left for the hills and made plans to contact the other resistance leaders.
[Greenfield 1965 p 236]
A master plan for the town was designed by architect Bosio. The intention was to keep the
existing city for the local inhabitants and to build new areas for Italians at the road to
Addis Abeba, "New Jimma", and on the plain of Kochi (Cóci) at about 3 km from the
existing centre. Map in Guida .. page 527.
An air route with flights three times a week between Addis Abeba and Jimma was
inaugurated on 15 December 1937.
1938 About 15,000 inhabitants of which about 5,000 Italians. Seat of Governo dei Gálla
e Sidáma.
Population of the town increased very much 1938-1939, over 70% in one year.
[Mesfin Wolde Mariam]
The roads out from Jimma in the 1930s were not good, and the trail Jimma-Bonga was
listed by the Italians in 1938 among piste difficilissime.
The existing centre of commerce and traffic was called Piazza del Mercato, frequented
especially on Thursdays. In the buildings on the sides were branch offices of various
Italian, Greek, Armenian and Ethiopian enterprises, two Italian banks, recreation spaces
with two cinemas (OND and Foltzer), dopolavoro and labour office. Buildings of mud
were being replaced by masonry.

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Along the market street there were the post office, an office of public works, a Palazzina
Vicereale, and a government photo office. Further on towards the south-west there were
seats af civilian and military authorities and various public offices, and in the continuation
the airport which had a runway of concrete and 3 flights per week to Addis Abeba as well
as some to Gore and Dembidolo.
South of the Piazza del Mercato there was a radio telegraph. At about one kilometre north
of the centre there was the Missione della Consolata which had been founded in 1928. At
this mission there was a chapel of San Giorgio, schools for Italian children and for
Ethiopians, an orphanage for 40 children, sawmill, workshops for joinery and other
handicrafts, kiln, etc. Not far away there was a military hospital and a hospital for
Ethiopians.
Albergo C.I.A.A.O. - among the first larger buildings when entering from Addis Abeba -
had 21 hotel rooms, 3 bathrooms and 7 showers and a restaurant with 50 seats. The small
hotel Favati had 12 beds.
Outside the town to the north-east was the Ethiopian Orthodox church of Medhane Alem.
It was built of mud (chicka) with octagonal plan and was roofed with red metal sheets.
[Guida 1938]
Postal handstamp had spelling GIMMA around 1939-1941 and JIMMA around 1963.
Rainfall 1639 mm was recorded for the year 1938. Mean annual rainfall as stated a couple
of decades later was somewhat lower.
Manager 1938-1941 of a modern grain mill in Jimma was Giuseppe Tosca, and together
with four brothers the Tosca family had mills in several towns in Ethiopia.
1939 For electric power supply, the Italians were around 1939 upgrading the existing plant to a
capacity of 380 horsepowers.
Undertakings registered around that time for wood industry were Bassignana & Balma,
Mansi Luigi, Capusso Giuseppe & C.
1941 Fitawrari Geressu Duke, mounted on horseback, led his large forces across the Omo.
They played a considerable part in the engagements before and after the fall of Jimma in
June 1941 when the Italian remnants were driven towards Dembi Dolo.
[Greenfield 1965 p 264]
At the final surrender in the south-west in 1941 there were about 12,000 prisoners of the
Italian side taken at Jimma, among them General Scala and three other generals and eight
brigade commanders.
[Shirreff 1995 p 217]
"On the reoccupation in 1941 a governor-general of the Province of Kaffa-Jimma was
appointed and the Sultan Abba Jawbir became a purely nominal figure."
[Trimingham 1952 p 204]
Sent in semi-exile to Jimma in 1941(?) was Lij Yohannis who was a son of Lij Iyasu.
During the patriot fighting against the Italians he at one point took the title of Emperor.
He was sent to Jimma after a plot planned together with Tekle Wolde Hawariat against
Haile Selassie had failed.
[Gilkes 1975 p 231]
1942 In a decree of 1942, Jimma is listed as one of only six "Schedule A" municipalities in
Ethiopia, while there were about a hundred in "Schedule B".
1943 Artist Bekele Abebe was born in Jimma in 1943. He graduated from the Art School,
continued studies in Hungary 1967-1973, and returned to the Art School in Addis Abeba
as a teacher.
[Eth. Artists p 234-235]
1944 In 1944 the town was reported to have 30 Europeans living there. The Emperor made a
state visit there in March 1944.
1946 Ras Mesfin Sileshi (b. circa 1902) was Governor of Kaffa/Kefa 1946-1955 and then
became Minister of Interior.
"He was a proud and unpopular Governor of Kaffa, where he acquired a great deal of
land, and is regarded by many radicals as the embodiment of what they dislike most in the
present political system."

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[C Clapham, Haile-Selassie's government, 1969 p 197]

Artist Endale Haile-Selassie (1946-1969) was born in Jimma and graduated from the Art
School in Addis Abeba in 1965. As he died young he did not get much time to produce
major works.
[Eth. Artists p 134-135]
1947 A man Gebreyesus Afework died 25 September 1947 at Jimma, to where he had been
banished for political reasons.
Gebreyesus was born on 10 July 1868 at Zege on the western shore of lake Tana, and he
was a relative of the Shewan royal family so that Menilek sent him to Italy for studies. He
returned as an artist who decorated churches and then went to Switzerland with Alfred
Ilg. He taught Amharic in Naples/Italy from 1902 and had four children with an Italian
wife. He published in Italian an Amharic grammar in 1905 and also other works while he
was a teacher.
Gebreyesus moved with his family to Eritrea in 1912 and started a commercial enterprise.
He later moved to Addis Abeba and also became director of customs in Dire Dawa. He
was ambassador to Italy when the war broke out in 1935 and tried in vain to mediate.
[G Puglisi, Chi è? .., Asmara 1952]
1949 In 1949 the main hospital had two doctors and 100 beds, and Lilt Tsehay Hospital had one
doctor and 25 beds.
1950s The main road was still not good, so the trip to Addis Abeba is said to have taken two
weeks in 1953 (by 1968 it was an 8-hour drive by car).
Jimma "is on the edge of one of the most effortlessly productive coffee regions in the
world, but it is the 'collection centre'. [Busk 1957 p 41-43]
"In the town itself /around 1950/ are four simply built hut-mosques, but rarely does one
see anyone praying in the new mosque built by the Italians near the market."
"Each group of villages is said to have someone who teaches the Qur'an in return for help
in the fields. Needless to say all the boys learn to recite mechanically without
understanding the meaning of the Arabic.The prevailing madhhab is probably the
Shafi'ite, but many follow the Hanafite which was introduced from Gondar by one Abd
al-Hakin who is regarded as a wali."
[Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, 1952 p 205]
1952 The Jimma agricultural school was established in 1952, located on a hill overlooking the
city of Jimma, with an enrolment of approximately 200 students. Courses were offered in
practical agriculture, farm and shop mechanics, science, and allied studies, with emphasis
upon "learning by doing". The instructional facilities of the school were supplemented by
the use of the Jiren (Giren) Farm, placed at the disposal of the school by the government
and covering two gashas (80 hectares) of land. Here experiments with coffee seedlings
were carried out.
[G A Lipsky, Ethiopia, USA 1962 p 257 + 12th Int Conf 1994 p 454]]
The school was organised jointly by the Ethiopian government and USAID with staff
from the College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts in Oklahoma. It was officially
opened on 13 October 1952 in existing buildings. The school site had previously served
as barracks and training centre for the Italian army. A new building with dormitories etc.
was completed in 1954. At the opening 79 students were enrolled. The school was first
led by a former American missionary Thomson /spelling?/ who had been headmaster of a
secondary school in Addis Abeba.
At the opening of the school year 1956-57 the student body had grown to 218 members,
though a number of pupils had transferred to Alemaya. A list of the staff members is
given in the Eth. Observer article as defined under "texts" below.
[Ethiopia Observer, November 1957]
The first class of 19 high school seniors graduated from the Jimma Agricultural Technical
School in early 1953. By 1964 there were a total of 399 graduates, and there were 194
students in grades 9-12. Among subjects studied was culture of coffee, and there was a
Coffee Research Nursery. 300,000 seedlings were distributed from the nursery to growers
in June 1963 and another 300,000 were transplanted to the nursery in July.

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[Official pamphlet, A.A. 1964]

27 extension workers were trained in coffee processing at the Agricultural Technical
School in 1956, and 15 were admitted to the next course in 1957.
1955 Around 1955 Jimma had daily service by either cargo or passenger airplane from/to Addis
Abeba.
There was a 120 kW hydro-electric power station and an old 200 kW thermal station by
that time giving only 140 kW at peak. Expansion of the hydro-electric station was being
planned.
Around 1955: Sudan Interior Mission had a clinic. Coffee cleaning plants were operated
by A. Besse & Co., Ethiomoka, Leftery Yani, Tana Co., Aristides Livierato, Ditta Diano
Antonio, Negroni Giuseppe, and De Giola.
1956 "About E$ 500,000 has been invested by United States citizens in the Ethiopian-American
Coffee Company Ltd., established in 1956, and to develop a coffee plantation on land
owned by Ras Mesfin in Jimma."
[G A Lipsky, Ethiopia .., USA 1962 p 320]
Agronomist Robert Stewart left Jimma Agricultural Technical School in July 1956 after
having compiled documents on 280 grasses and 450 plant diseases.
88 students completed the second short course at the school on 24 August 1956.
1957 There were about 225 motor vehicles registered in Jimma in 1957. Jimma was then still
the end of the telephone line to the south-west.
Compared with road freight Jimma-Addis Abeba in 1957, the freight Jimma-Gore cost 9.5
times more, Jimma-Agaro 17 times more, and Jimma-Maji 30 times more. However, costs
were also much depending on the season.
[Agriculture in Ethiopia, Rome (FAO) 1961 p 92]
Hourly surface meteorological observations at the airport (-1957-) were made by ICAO
trained observers.
The Lindahl family on individual excursion were the only guests at the main hotel on
2 April 1957. They saw goreza monkeys in a forest a little outside the town. Some Italian-
built multifamily houses had not been maintained and looked almost like ruins.
[B Lindahl from diary]
1959 Mayor of Jimma city in 1959 was Ato Kifle Inque Selassie. Other officials then were:
Provincial Governor General was Lt.Col. Tamrat Yigezu,
Director General of Kefa Teklay Gizat was Fitawrari Wolde Semayat Tessema,
Secretary General of ditto was Blatta Tesfa Mariam Nigeru,
Provincial chief of police was Lt.Col. Tesfaye Gabre Mariam,
his deputy chief was Lt.Col. Habte Michael W. Mariam,
regional manager of Telecommunications (IBTE) was Ato Engidashet Aboye.
At the Agricultural Technical School the Director of Instruction was Dr. C.R. Kindell,
and the Administrative Director was Ato Tesfa Bushen.
At the Highway Authority branch the District Engineer was Mr C. Makridis (a Greek).
1960s Mean annual rainfall 1535 mm in Jimma is stated in the 1960s.
Bitwoded Negash Bezebe led opposition to the government in the early 1950s. He was not
executed but was sent to the south, and at least by mid-1964 he was still living under
restriction in Jimma.
[Greenfield 1965 p 295]
By 1960 Jimma had one of the ten municipal slaughter houses in Ethiopia.
1960 Ethiopian Air Lines had its first fatal accident near Jimma around 1 July 1960.
At Atse Amde Tsiyon school 2 students passed 8th-grade examination in 1960, and
20 students at Miazia 27th school. The last-mentioned school had 67 male and 2 female
students in secondary education.
Jimma Agricultural Technical School in 1958 had 162 male students and one female,
and in 1960 it had 198 students, all male. At this school there was also a two years'
course in forestry resulting in a diploma of Forest Ranger.
Jimma Grand Automobile Race was held for the fourth time on a Sunday around
20 August 1960. In the 1st course there were 16 contestants covering a total of 87.5 km

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each. Winners were Mannoni Lodovico in an Alfa Romeo.

In the 2nd course there were 7 racers and winner was Cello Afro in a Ford Anglia.
According to a newspaper there were over 7,000 spectators. [News]
An agreement signed with the American company RCA on 10 September 1960 concerned
construction of several 1 kW radio transmitters in the provinces, of which one to be
placed in Jimma. [News]
Tenders for construction of a new mosque in Jimma were invited in December 1960.
President of the committee for the mosque was Kenyazmach Aba Jebel Abajifar
(see above under Jimma state).
1961 Ato Zecharias Tekle was Director General and Grazmach Alemayehu Kitata was
Secretary General of Kaffa Province (-1961-).
1962 The runway at the airport was improved in 1962. The all weather road from Jimma to
Bonga was completed around 1962.
The Industrial Mission had two Swedish missionaries in 1962. Its Swedish staff in April
1965 was (only?) Frans Larsson, while Elof Höglund worked for the Full Gospel Mission.
1964 The Full Gospel Mission from Sweden in late 1964 had an elementary school with (for a
start) 40 children.
1965 There was no industrial establishment in Jimma in 1965.
Travel time from Addis Abeba to Jimma, a distance of 335 km, was 2 weeks in 1953 and
7 hours in 1965, with a six-fold increase of traffic during that time span.
"Before reaching the centre of Jimma, one first passes through a road block. Beyond this
is the section of Jimma that was founded by the fascists as the New Jimma. The main part
of the city follows. -- population of 10,000 people.
A contract has been signed to connect Jimma with the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railroad /it is
well known that the proposed railway extension never was built/. --
The Ghion Hotel is run by the Ras Hotel Co. and provides simple but clean rooms with
fair food and service, at a moderate price. The hotel is located behind the gas station an
the main road just before the centre of the city.
Though the Ghion Hotel has better rooms, the Ras Mesfin Hotel has better food. The bar,
just off the dining room, is rather quaint. The hotel is located in the centre of the city and
is easy to find.
There is one cinema in Jimma with nightly shows. The films are usually in English.
There are many taxis in Jimma as well as the horse-drawn ghari. -- Jimma is served by a
daily bus to Addis Ababa, as well as by several small buses that travel to villages around
Jimma. The journey to Addis Ababa takes about nine hours. The bus station is located in
the market just south of the centre of the city.
There are daily flights between Addis Ababa and Jimma. -- There are several flights a
week to Gambela, Gore and other towns. The new airport is west of the city. --
Though there are not many places of specific interest to the tourist in Jimma, the
countryside around the city is some of the most verdant and beautiful in Ethiopia --
The Sultan's Residence: -- From the centre -- after entering "New Jimma", the road makes
a slight jog and there is a military camp on the corner. Take the street to the left along the
camp and then past the hospital. -- continue north until you come to a small village with a
large grassy area and houses along both sides. Turn left on the green; a short distance past
the village is the compound of the residence of the Sultan."
[Welcome to Ethiopia, AA ca 1965 p 44-46]
Official statistics for 1965 say that there were 3,600 owned, 3,690 rented, and 600
unspecified dwellings.
Of these 2,480 used piped water, 2,390 water from wells, and 2,980 from streams.
[Statistical report]
Colonel Tamrat Yegezou, Governor General of the province, was a modern official,
"almost elegant". A large black hornbill was sitting on one of the hangars at the airport
when John Eriksson flew to Waka as the only passenger at some time in the mid-1960s.
Timber boards and a galvanized tub for the mission station in Waka was the air freight
that could be seen.

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[J Eriksson, Okänt Etiopien, Sthlm 1966 p 67]

Thelma Tonkin also travelled in the 1960s: "At Jimma the hotel rooms surrounded a
garden courtyard, and an enormous white flower nodded against the open window, each
nod wafting in a heavy perfume. It was Friday and the fast day, and we alone were
mercifully exempt from having to eat the unattractive mess of vegetables."
"It was neat and clean; everything seeming to be new - new modern houses, new tarred
roads and handsome new petrol stations. -- There was a new school too, and in the
playground the boys were lined up for roll-call in their classes. They presented a business-
like appearance in their short black trousers and white shirts, carrying their books. The
leader held a large green, yellow and red Ethiopian flag, so large indeed that he had
difficulty with the folds which threatened to envelop him completely."
[T Tonkin, Ethiopia with love, London 1972 (Norwegian ed. 1974) p 186-191]
1966 The provincial road from Jimma to Suntu was built in 1966 by the Highway Authority.
In 1966 it was decided that a contractor would be engaged
to design a master plan for Jimma.
At the Industrial Mission there were in 1966 two Swedes and about 15 students in a 3-
year course. The Full Gospel Mission's elementary school had about 60 pupils.
Volunteers of the Swedish official aid also worked there in community development.
1967 Population 30, 580. Illitteracy 75.5 per cent in 1965.
The telephone directory of 1967-68 gives 268 numbers for Gimma. Among institutions
not mentioned elsewhere here are American Library, Ethio Soda Factory, Farmers' Coffee
Association, Gimma Printing Press, Haile Selassie I Pharmacy, Imp. Eth. Army 5th
Brigade Infantry Division and 4th Artillery Battalion, Missionery Aviation Fellowship,
National Lottery Office, Princess Tsehay Clinic, Ras Desta Damtew Hospital, Saint Mary
Pharmacy, Sudan Interior Mission Youth Centre.
Personal names are distributed on about 95 Christian-type Ethiopian, about 85 Moslem-
type and about 20 foreigners.
Persons with important titles are Lij Abate Mulat, Grazmach Abba Gero Mohammed
Hassen, Dejazmach Abba Jebel Abba Jefar, Kenyazmach Abba Jemal Abba Bora,
Kenyazmach Ahmed Ismael, Bejerond Belew Bekele, Grazmach Tassew Gosaye.
Doctors with personal telephones are Kusin, Nigmer, Rylels.
To the Jimma branch of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
was added another branch in 1967 and one more in 1968.
1968 Haile Selassie I primary school in 1968 had 569 boys and 417 girls,
with 17 male and 3 female teachers.
Miazia 27th primary school had 909 boys and 638 girls,
with 30 male and 6 female teachers.
Miazia 27th Secondary School had 833 male and 195 female students in grades 7-12,
with 27 teachers of which 19 foreign.
Atse Amde Tsiyon School had 48 male and 5 female students in grades 7-8,
with 3 teachers (Ethiopian).
Sekouru School had 56 male and 11 female students in grades 7-8,
with 4 teachers (Ethiopian).
Swedish Industrial Mission had 16 students, with 2 Swedish teachers.
On 9 June 1968 an agreement was signed by Swedevelop and an Ethiopian investment
company to establish a sawmill at Jimma. This seems to have been the first case of new
Swedish government support for investments abroad. However, nothing came out of the
agreement for years (or ever?) reportedly owing to problems with land for location of the
sawmill.
1969 Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands visited Jimma in January 1969,
and they made a donation for a health centre to be built there. [News]
The two Swedish missions had 25 students in the joinery school and about
100 children in the primary school. They also had a kind of prison mission.
A Swedish social worker A. Söderholm said in February 1969 that there were 750
prisoners in the prison at Jimma, of which 40 condemned to death.

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Dejazmach Aba Jebel Aba Jiffar was president (-1969-) of the Jimma farmers'
cooperative. Only landowners, not tenant farmers, could be members of the cooperative.
Work Alemahu Habte Mariam was manager of the Jimma Development Bank.
The privately established Addis Ababa Bank had one of its about six provincial branches
in Jimma.
Daily newspapers from Addis Abeba were sold in Jimma.
Among hotels there were still the Ghion and the Ras Mesfin, but also the
Teka Egeno Hotel.
1970 Swedish Industrial Mission had about half a dozen Swedish teachers and Full Gospel
Mission had three Swedish missionaries, among them their pioneer Elof Höglund.
1972 The joinery school of the Swedish Adventist Mission had a central location.
"There seemed to be many machines and few students."
There was another Adventist mission outside town and an SIM mission
inside town.
The Emperor visited jimma in late 1972.
1974 "Towards the end of March /1974/ there was a popular uprising by the townsmen of
Jimma: a mammoth demonstration that embraced almost the entire population of the town
confronted the police force, expelled the governor, and elected, by popular will, a 34-man
committee that would administer the town in place of the deposed provincial
administration. This committee, composed mainly of teachers and students and
merchants, and accountable to the people, remained in power for weeks. Jimma was the
only place where a popular insurrection developed into a popularly elected urban
administration. In this sense, it represented an act one step ahead of the mass movements
before and after March 1974. The Jimma insurrection immediately triggered off other
towns into similar actions."
[Addis Hiwet, Ethiopia from autocracy .., London 1975 p 107]
The Governor-General in Jimma, one of the three brothers Inqu-Selassie, disappeared
when the Derg of the revolution started hunting its adversaries. [News]
On 3 September 1974 it was announced that Dejazmach Tsehayu Inqu-Selassie had been
killed the previous day when trying to resist arrest. "This is the first really high-ranking
official who becomes killed during the change of power in Ethiopia."
[News from ENA]
1975 Population 49,044, and 56,278 as estimated in 1978.
Spelling used by the post office was JIMMA (-1955-1975-).
After the proclamation of the land reform in early 1975:
"The first open confrontation between students and the military government -- occurred in
mid-April at Jimma -- The exact course of events is not clear; on a visit to Jimma at the
time, the author received contradictory accounts. What is certain is that the conflict
started in the rural areas around the town when students and their peasant followers
arrested and jailed some small landlords, rich peasants, and members of the local police
force. Some peasants were killed in these incidents.
Subsequently, unrest spread to Jimma itself and led to a series of anti-government
demonstrations. The situation became sufficiently serious for the Derg to send a special
delegation, which at one point in its tour found itself surrounded by hostile students. --
The Derg favored a gradualist approach to land reform and made it clear that the rural
police, whatever its faults, was an arm of the government. Civilians would not be allowed
to arrest policemen.
But further violent incidents occurred in the town, leading to the death of 24 students, the
arrest of many more, and the withdrawal of others from zemacha camps in the area. --
Directives were issued to the campaigners that they should avoid needless strife and, in
particular, that they should stop pressing for the immediate establishment of collectives.
Students did not easily accept this gradualist, law-and-order approach, and considerable
violence ensued."
[M & D Ottaway, Ethiopia - empire in revolution, USA etc (Africana) 1978 p 73-74]
On 13 June 1975 the Special Court Martial began a case against Said Ali, a former

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treasurer of ESBU (Elementary School Building Unit) in Jimma. Said Ali was charged
with misappropriation of about E$ 30,000.
[Ethiopian Herald]
1978 There were petrol filling stations of all the suppliers: Agip, Mobil, Shell, Total.
1979 The office in Jimma of the Kaffa-Ilubabor-Bethel Synod of the Mekane Yesus church was
nationalized in 1978 and most of their churches were closed in 1979. Its president was
Gutema Rufo in 1982-1990.
1981 In 1981 there were 156 students with 23 teachers at the Jimma Agricultural Institute
(did it become Institute instead of School in 1966?).
Among staff at that time there were president Ato Abraham Woldu, registrar Ato Lemma
Desalegn, librarian Teshome Negero. Its library had about 13,200 volumes.
[World of Learning directory]
1982 Main hotels around 1982 were Jimma Ethiopia with 47 beds and manager Assefa Wolde
Giorgis, Ghibe with 46 beds and manager Asrat Semu, and Gojeb with 22 beds and
manager Kassahun Asfaw.
1985 In October 1985 it was published that Associated Engineering Services, a Canadian firm,
had been awarded a design contract for water supply to Jimma. Bids for construction
work were invited in September 1986.
A substation was constructed at Jimma on the new 132 kV electric transmission line from
Alaba to Agaro, built around 1985.
The Shewa-Kaffa-Ilubabor-Bethel Synod in 1985 had 75 congregations, 16 priests and 66
evangelists.
1987 Population 68, 618.
1990s The Teacher Training Institute used Oromo and Amharic as languages in the 1990s.
President of the Ilubabor Bethel Synod in 1990 was Mersha Seyoum.
1991 By the time the London conference on changes in Ethiopia convened on 27 May 1991, the
EPRDF was announcing capture of Jimma.
1994 Population about 88,867? According to another source it was 119,717 in October 1994,
making Jimma the 5th largest provincial town in Ethiopia and very little behind Mekele.
1995 The private weekly newspaper Tobia wrote on 6 July 1995 that 36 residents of Jimma had
been put under detention. They were found in possession of a map depicting the nine
regional national administrations demarcated according to the recently approved
constitution, The map which was not made official had been shown on television. Some
detainees were taken to court and released while others were said to be still under
detention.
In July it was also reported that 22 Ethiopians residing in Switzerland had donated
medical equipment worth about US$ 1.5 million to Jimma hospital.
"After a couple of weeks in the west, Jima seems extraordinarily cosmopolitan, reminding
you how poky most western Ethiopian towns really are. On my first stroll through the
town, confronted by cropped green lawns and the neat well-tended grid of roads, I found
myself almost collapsing with laughter. The central park along the river wouldn't look out
of place in a European village, nor would the hand-holding couples you see walking
through it. Past the park, on the Addis road, you find yourself in something approaching
leafy suburbia. There are even public baths, for goodness sake!"
"Jima lacks any notable tourist attractions but you couldn't hope for a friendlier, greener,
or better equipped place to rest up between bus trips. The patch of woodland near the
public baths is worth investigating - guereza monkeys and silvery-cheeked hornbills
appear to be resident. -- A group of hippo is said to be resident in a reservoir out of town
along the Addis road."
"Of the private hotels, the GMH Hotel wins hands down on sheer perversity. Built in the
1930s, it has a wonderfully creaky atmosphere, particularly the wood-panelled public area
which consists of a ground floor bar overlooked by a first-floor internal balcony complete
with a string of cosy compartmentalised lounges. The rooms are a little run-down -- Also
recommended is the nameless blue hotel opposite the Mobil Garage -- In the dollar-a-
night range, the cheap hotels clustered in the town centre are uniformly grotty. The

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Befikida Hotel is much better, and no more expensive, and the two hotels along the road
opposite the Total Garage near the bus station are also fine."
[Bradt 1995(1998) p 252-254 with sketch of the town plan p 253]
"One of the most important settlements in the west of the country and Ethiopia's most
important coffee-collecting centre, it is a large urban town with many modern institution.
-- Places of particular tourist interest include the two-storey palace of Abba Jifar (1878-
1932) -- the principal mosque, and the octagonal church of Medhane Alem -- The large
Thursday market -- is a good place from which to buy the famous three-legged Jimma
stools and locally made baskets -- The museum with its collection of Kaffa's traditional
wooden handicraft masterpieces is also worth a visit, as are the many coffee-cleaning
units in the town."
[Camerapix 1995 p 199, 202-203]
The power position of traditional Muslim leaders and merchants is threatened by the
young radical Muslims. Outside Jimma there is a radical theological training camp where
no outsider is allowed to enter, Merchants in Jimma call these young hotheads "our
Muslim pente". (Pente = originally Pentecost Christian, later an abusive word for
Evangelical Christian.)
[A Nordlander, Väckelse och växtvärk .., Sthlm 1996 p 116]
1997 There are domestic flights with Ethiopian Air Lines between Jimma and Addis Abeba,
Mizan Teferi, Asosa, Begi, Dembidolo, Gambela, Gore, Nejo, Mendi, Soddo, Tepi, Tum,
Waka. The airport is named Aba Segud.
The paved runway has a length of about 2000 m. Instrument approach procedure has been
published.
Six people were arrested in Jimma on 8 December 1997 and then held incommunicado.
They were suspected of having links with the banned Oromo Liberation Front. Their
names were Aberra Romicho, Berhanu Galalta, Debelle Hunde, Hailu Benti, Hirut Letta,
Negasso Wakijira.
[AddisTribune 98-01-30]
1998 In 1998 the government established four new universities, among them Oromiya
University at Jimma. It was built from the foundation of the Health Science Institute.
1999 For tourists: Jimma Ethiopia and Gibe are government hotels, GMH and Wolde Argaw
are private. The museum displays particularly arts and crafts objects.
[Äthiopien 1999 p 460]
2000 "Jimma boasts some good examples of 1930s Italian Fascist architecture. Take a peak at
the cinema, post office, the old hotels, municipality and the old Banca d'Italia."
Well-maintained public parks are among the city's proud attributes. There is no shortage
of decent hotels and restaurants. Thursday is the main market day. Woodwork is a
specialty for tourist souvenirs, such as the three-legged Jimma stool made in one piece.
An American tourist ordered an exact copy of the king's toilet as seen in the museum and
got it made!
"Both government hotels, the Jima Hotel and Ghibe Hotel, are dank, run-down and
overpriced -- The GMH Hotel is an old, cavernous, colonial place with simple but clean,
light and spacious rooms." The Wolde Aregaw & Family's Hotel is recommended at the
mid-range, and in the cheaper range there are Hootelaa Shaawaa and Befikadu Hotel.
Flights per week there are 5 to Addis Abeba, 4 to Gambela, 2 to Tepi, and one each to
Gore, Dembidolo and Mizan Teferi. Garis (horse-drawn carts) are used in town. Transport
to the airport is mainly by taxi.
In the vicinity of the town there are various caves, hot springs, and a hippo pool at the
Boye Dam, 5 km from Jimma.
The Muuziyemii Jimmaa (Jimma Museum) contains example of arts and crafts, clothes,
jewellery, musical instruments etc and odd things such as an Italian machine gun from
1936. Among historical objects are personal possessions of the former king. The
collection will be transferred to the palace museum.
The two-storey old palace of Abba Jiffar lies 7 km north of the town centre near the
village of Jiren on a hill. "Though the palace is rather decrepit, there are some interesting

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architectural details." There are various buildings in the palace compound, and the private
family mosque is still in use.
[Lonely planet 2000 p 274-278, with town plan]
Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke in June 2000:
In May and June we set off twice for Ethiopia. The two campaigns - one in Jimma and the
other in Nazret - met with all-out resistance from the enemy of the Gospel.
Nine small church communities in Jimma had joined forces and invited us. The
population is said to be 90% Muslim and 5% Ethiopian Orthodox, while a small number
of others are evangelical Christians.
As it turned out, the Muslim town council made us very welcome and gave us its full
support, while representatives of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church breathed murderous
threats of violence.
The campaign began and the people came. Over the six days, inhabitants made a decision
for Jesus Christ and filled in a 'decision card'.
As prayer was made for the sick, sportsman Adamanu with an injured back since four
years was healed. 'I have never before seen so many people being saved, healed and set
free,' said Pastor Mikael Admassu.
[Internet www.cfan.org]
2001 Population about 109,300 making Jimma the 8th largest town in Ethiopia.
There is an Apostolic Prefecture for Jimma-Bonga of the Roman Catholic Church
(-2001-)
"Despite the relative wealth derived from the coffee trade for which Jimma is a major
centre, the town has a poor and dirty feel, with a sense of decay prevalent."
"We first stopped at the Jimma Hotel, a part of the Ethiopia Hotel chain. It had the faded
elegance expected of this type of old government hotel -- The food was fine and the
service was good, but the rooms were 180 Birr for a double which was not as clean and
nice as the 25 Birr rooms in Soddo -- so we set off on our search. After finding a more
comfortable hotel with 154 Birr double rooms, but surly service, followed by several
dumps without hot water, an atmosphere of the sex trade, and rooms from 50-80 Birr per
night, we fled back to the Jimma Hotel. They had some bungalows that we hadn't looked
at earlier, which were very nice. -- It was the best deal in town."
"The main place to see around Jimma is the castle of Aba Jiffar -- The museum in the
main square is the starting point. We arrived at 8:45 AM. The museum opened at 9:00.
There were two guys there. We asked if we could go in, but we were told it was locked
and the man with the key would arrive at 9:00. We discovered that this was the only place
that you could buy tickets to see the castle, which was some distance away. When we
offered to buy tickets, which were very reasonable at 10 Birr each (half for children), the
same man produced a key and went through the door which couldn't be unlocked, to get
the tickets. We bought them and left. Having so obviously been lied to and put off, we
didn't go back to the museum."
"The castle -- is on the eastern edge of the town -- You go past the Teachers' College, an
attractive red brick building, up to a very bad dirt road about 7 kilometres long. It is easy
to find by asking directions, although it would be nice if they had a sign or two. -- The
castle comes into view on the top of a hill that commands the area. The castle is a series
of wooden and stone buildings. A tower at the top of the steps in the big building has got
four windows from which permanently posted soldiers could observe invasions from any
direction."
"The building has a feel of late 19th century architecture almost everywhere (it was built
in the 1870's). Wide verandas spread beneath gabled overhangs. Inside the rooms are
stark and whitewashed. UNESCO and perhaps others have assisted the Ministry of
Culture with the restoration of the buildings, with floorboards replaced and steps rebuilt.
They did a nice job. A courtyard in the interior of the largest house was used as an
auditorium, where guests stood on the second floor and watched entertainers or warriors
trying to impress them on a ground level stage. -- One of the buildings is an active
mosque."

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"We had a pleasant guide who spoke virtually no English, but we had Tesfu as a
translator. He told me that they received up to 100 visitors a month during the dry season
-- Most were from Addis but he said there were many foreign visitors. I was surprised,
especially given the condition of the road."
[John Graham in AddisTribune 2001/12/21]
picts L'industria in A.O.I., Roma 1939 p 215, cleaning coffee near Jimma;
Gli annali .., anno III vol I /Roma 1940/ p 692-693[7] a school for Italians,
a school for Ethiopians, p 716-717[14] Italian-built church, [15] church of
the Missione della Consolata, [16] Italian-built mosque, Consolata church;
p 732-733[3] Italian-built prison, military court building, p 740-741[2] building
of "questura & polizia", p 828-829[3-4] hospital under construction,
"ospedale territoriale", Sultan Abba Jobir visiting, outpatients clinic for
Ethiopians, p 876-877[2] new slaughterhouse, p 916-917[6] OND building,
seat of Federazione Fascista;
Gli annali .., anno IV vol 3, Roma 1941 p 854-855[6] plant nursery of the
Milizia Forestale;
Gli annali .., anno IV vol 4 p 1164-1165[11] Albergo CIAAO hotel,
exteriors and interiors;
Guide book of Ethiopia, AA 1954 p 202 main building of
Jimma Agricultural Technical School;
Ethiopia Observer 1957 no 10 p 318 new dormitory of the Agricultural School,
324-325 coffee plantation of the school;
J Eriksson, Okänt Etiopien, Sthlm 1966 p 48-49[6] simple pedestrian bridge;
Addis Reporter 1970 no 2 p 23 airport building of Aba Segud-Negus Wolde
Giorgis Airport, 24 large mosque, officials;
R.N. Thompson, Liberation - .., Vancouver 1987 p 6 Vittorio Mussolini
at the air base.
texts Ethiopia Observer, Nov. 1957 no 10, article by Sylvia Pankhurst p 318-324
about the Jimma Agricultural Technical School.
maps Municipal borders, in Gli annali .., anno III vol I /Roma 1940/ p 908.
1:5,000 by Mapping & Geog. Inst., November 1961
Jimma : Baddabuna
Dejazmach Mesfin Sileshi owned a fairly small coffee plantation at Baddabuna (Badda
Buna) about 8 km from the town of Jimma. Part of it was leased to five foreigners for 30
years.
The Jimma Agricultural School, established in 1952, helped Mesfin to make his farm
relatively modern, and he offered it as a demonstration field for the Agricultural School.
[12th Int Conf 1994 p 729-730]
Jimma : Bore
At 9 km to the south-west of Jimma, named from river Bore which is crossed about 4 km
from Jimma.
One platoon of Cavalieri di Neghelli started an Italian colonization centre here in 1937,
by initiative of General Geloso and with 100 hectares cultivated in the first stage.
[Guida 1938]
Jimma : Hirmata
The original market place which was moved and became Jimma.
In 1905 Bieber observed that Hirmata drew some 30,000 people on Thursdays, and he
was struck by the diversity of Ethiopian peoples assembled there.
G. Montandon, the Swiss traveller who visited Jimma in 1910, remarked the good roads,
lined with trees, and the foreign firms established at the great market at Hirmata.
[Perham 1948 p 305]
There was direct Shewan rule of Jimma 1933-1936. See under Jimma above concerning
also Hirmata in the 1930s.
pict P.G. Jansen, Abissinia .., Milano 1935 p 192 market at Hirmata.

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HDB57 Jimma (Gimma) (mountain) 1667 m 08/36 [+ WO]

HDJ71 Jimma (Gimma) (mountain) 1910 m 09/36 [+ WO]
H.... Jimma Arjo sub-district (ctr in 1964 = Kiku) 08/36? [Ad]
HCR44 Jimma awraja (Jima ..) 07°40'/37°00' 07/37 [Gz Ad]
(centre -1964-1980- = Jimma)
1930s Of 97 foreigners resident in Jimma Province around 1935 there were
26 Greeks
23 Indians
21 Arabs
7 Armenians
8 Italians
5 Americans
7 others
Jimma Province was divided into 70 korro each with its leader Abba Korro.
[Zervos 1936]
Statistics for 1931 (a good commercial year) says
import 1,525,000 M.T. taler
export 2,484,000 M.T. taler
1950s The Sultanate of Jimma had a number of "strange customs, some of which still persist,
though they are now dying out. Goats, sheep, chickens and eggs were forbidden food and
the taboo is still rigidly maintained in the villages."
[Busk 1957 p 43]
Sub-province Governor of Jimma awraja in 1959 was Fitawrari Sahle Dilnesau.
1960s In 1961 Jimma became the seat of a Shewan dejazmach with the rank of deputy-governor,
but the sultan's surviving son Dejazmach Abba Jebel was (-1964-) district governor of
Jimma.
[Greenfield 1965 p 102 note]
map by Mapping & Geog. Institute, January 1957

HDJ35 Jimma Genete wereda & sub-district (-1964-1997-) 09/37 [+ Ad n]

(J. Genetie ..) (centre of both in 1964 = Haretu)
?? Jimma Haro sub-district (-1997-) ../.. [+ n]
G.... Jimma Hor sub-district (centre in 1964 = Horo) 08/34? [Ad]
HDB69 Jimma Leka wereda (J. Lieka ..) 08/36 [+ Ad]
(centre in 1964 = Arjo)
HD... Jimma Rarie sub-district (centre in 1964 = Bebela) 09/37 [Ad]
G.... Jimma Tibe sub-district (J. Tibie ..) 08/34? [+Ad]
(centre in 1964 = Nunu)
HED24c Jimonyetta (Gimonietta) (area) 11/37 [+ Gu]

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