For years, the program has been associated with human rights abuses and the forced relocation of indigenous communities while paving the road for large-scale land grabs. These issues were highlighted in a report by the World Bank’s own independent Inspection Panel in 2015. Rather than addressing the grave concerns raised about the program, the Bank, instead, chose to launch an almost identical initiative under a new name.

One year after their arrest on March 15, 2015, three food, land, and human rights defenders continue to languish in an Ethiopian jail. After several court hearings, the prosecution has yet to present any evidence to support the spurious charge of “terrorism” under Ethiopia’s controversial counter-terrorism law. A March 1 hearing was once again adjourned and rescheduled for March 15, due to the failure of witnesses to appear in court.

Ethiopia’s kangaroo courts have repeatedly handed harsh sentences to innocent people, simply for raising their voices against injustice. There is little reason to believe that Mr. Okello’s case will be any different. His hope lies with the international community.

Woineshet is now 27 and living in relative safety. This week's ruling means that she can finally complete the horrific chapter in her life and move on in the knowledge that she has helped to make life better for future generations of Ethiopian women and girls.

The battle - and the greater narrative of Ethiopia’s independence – is a powerful symbol of African resistance to European imperialism. “Ethiopianism” has often served as a basis for other black and African peoples’ visions of political and spiritual liberation from colonial forces, both formal and informal.