Tsegu Fessahaie Bahta is the author of The Hidden Party, the Tigrinya and English version (edited). Due to his personal experience in the EPLF, in which he took it upon himself to edit and translate some short political and social writings from English into Tigrinya, he was able now to embark on some major translation works, among which the most important are the newly released book Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Deliverance by Dr. Bereket Habte Selassie and Miriam Was Here by Saleh Gadi Johar.
The freedom fighter (tegadalay) Tsegu Fessahaie Bahta was born in Asmara to his middle-class protestant (Lutheran) parents: mother was w/ro Bsrat Qeshi Habte Selassie and father memhir Fessahaie Bahta. After attending primary school at the Lutheran Church and middle and high school at the Bet Giorgish and Luul Mekonen schools respectively, he transferred to the Adventist Mission School in Addis Ababa to prepare for his Leaving Exam in his senior year of high school.
At the time he graduated high school and was getting ready to start his university education, Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown and the military junta, the Derg, which took power in Ethiopia declared the Public Service Campaign (zemecha) for students. Tsegu did not accept the Zemecha and had to return to Asmara and resume his studies at the University of Asmara. Even though he started attending the university, his mind was preoccupied by the clandestine urban activities he had been working on since his affiliation with the EPLF in 1972. When his covert activities were exposed by the enemy, he had to leave his education and life behind and join the EPLF’s armed struggle in December of 1975, following the footsteps of his three siblings: Isaias, Amanuel and Mussie.
Prior to joining the EPLF in the field, he was actively engaged in intelligence gathering, identifying spies working for the enemy and in reading and sending relevant books which could help the EPLF in developing its intelligence gathering in the field. Although the freedom fighters, who were working in Asmara and its surroundings, wanted him to stay and work with them, Tsegu did not accept their request. After proceeding to Sahel for military training, he was assigned to do similar functions, that he did while he was in the city, in the Revolutionary Guard (Halewa Sewra). Since joining the EPLF in the field till the liberation of Eritrea, he served as a member of the Revolutionary Guard.
During his time in the field as a member of the Revolutionary Guard, Tsegu served first as a guard, then as a political cadre, then as a rehabilitator, and finally he oversaw the Ethiopian POWs, a position he held till he returned to Asmara with the liberation of Eritrea in 1991. In 1978 he was nominated, and later confirmed, to be a member of the clandestine party known as the Eritrean Peoples’ Revolutionary Party. His book, The Hidden Party, was based on his experience as a member of this clandestine party. After his return to Asmara, he tried repeatedly to resume his studies—that he once disrupted to join the struggle—but the senior leadership for a variety of invalid reasons got on the way. He was, however, finally able to take some basic courses in Administration of Criminal Justice and Business Administration from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the Open University of England.
After the liberation of Eritrea, Tsegu served various roles in the administration of social and religious affairs as a colonel in the government and civil servant, eventually becoming, although for a limited time, the head of security for the National Bank. He was subsequently “frozen” for five years (it is kind of a furlough with pay. It is a method used to humiliate and render individuals irrelevant). Finally, Tsegu fled Eritrea and sought asylum in the US. In exile, he has embarked on writing and translation works focusing on social and political issues.
Although in his youth, Tsegu was, by his very nature, very outgoing and playful, he was also equally curious about his environment and the world he lives in and that inquisitiveness has instilled in him an affinity for reading all sorts of books which have helped him in his quest for self-development.
