The Guardian has a brief, but suggestive, obit for Ethiopia’s poet laureate:

his 1960s decision to write about the common man, rather than religion and royalty, marked the beginning of modern Ethiopian theatre

Meskot posted an obituary from the poet’s family (PDF), which gives a slightly different and far more revealing insight:

From 1961 to 1971, Tsegaye was Artistic Director of the Ethiopian National Theatre, and editor at the office of Oxford University Press in Addis Ababa through 1972. In 1973, he served as General Manager of the Ethiopian National Theatre, and was later appointed Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports in 1975. A year later, Tsegaye was arrested as a result of the military government’s reaction to his plays, and was imprisoned without formal charges being brought against him.