Balcha Safo

Dejazmach Balcha Safo was an Ethiopian military leader and lord defender of the crown who fought in both the First and Second Italo-Ethiopian Wars. He was also known by his horse's name, Abba Nefso.

Balcha Safo, who came from a lowly background, and Habte Giyorgis Dinagde were two of the many Agemja prisoners of war during the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II's southern invasion between 1875 and 1889. Emperor Menelik II became aware of him and had him returned to Addis Abeba, where Balcha had received his education. His ethnicity is in question; some accounts assert that he was of Gurage descent, while others assert that he was of Oromo descent.

He gained notoriety in the Battle of Mek'ele and later at the Battle of Adwa (March 1, 1896), according to oral legend, and was rewarded with promotion to the aristocratic title of dejazmach. Balcha later became a provincial governor (Shum). He later became a prominent figure in the conservative provincial elite, which in the 1920s frequently disagreed with Ras Tafari Makonnen, the Regent, and his modernizing initiatives and growing power. Dejazmach Balcha was then forced into an honorable retirement by Tafari Makonnen in 1928, from which he would later resurface in 1935 to fight against the fascist invasion, ultimately dying in 1936.

(1863 - 1936)