Abune Theophilos kisses the hand of HIM Haile Selassie I, as a sign of respect and gratitude on the day of his ordination as the second Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Christian church. The Emperor would have kissed the Bible or the patriarch’s hand or cross before that.
It shows him being led away by military officials after his fall from grace.
Shemelis Desta, who was court photographer from Haile Selassie's hey day in the 1960s to his fall during a military coup in 1974, smuggled the grainy but poignant image along with thousands of others out of Ethiopia after hiding them from the new military regime - the Derg.
very upset
The shot shows Selassie, who allegedly lived an opulent lifestyle complete with fancy cars, being led to a 'lowly' Volkswagen Bug.
The shot upsets Desta who worked with His Majesty for more than a decade. "He was the King of Kings, 'Father' of the Ethiopian people and they took him in a Volkswagen car. I was very upset, it made me sad," said Desta, who now lives in Hertfordshire.
Desta hid thousands of negatives and photographs in a water tank before paying a diplomat to smuggle them to Britain 20 years ago.
He worked out of an office at the palace and made a photographic record of almost all official occasions often traveling with the Emperor on overseas visits.
Nearly 30 years after Selassie's controversial death, Desta still speaks fondly of his former boss. "His Majesty was very kind. He was very special, King of Kings and a great Emperor. I respected him very much," said Desta who praised the Emperor for building churches and schools. "He was a great man and he didn't deserve that," he said.
After the military coup, the new regime - The Derg - kept him on as the official photographer for eight years until he fled in 1982. He said he went from having one boss to 120 (The Derg had 120 members). "I was not happy at the time. They ordered me to take photographs of their weddings and private functions. I was even forced to use my money to pay for printing material" declared Desta.
Desta is also peeved at attempts to exploit his collection of historic photographs. He told The Voice that shortly after he arrived in Britain Rastafarians approached him for copies for personal use. However, within weeks, his photos of the Emperor were seen on posters and postcards. Desta said he never expected them to cheat him and as a result he's stopped selling photos from his collection.
A selection from that collection is being exhibited at the Photographers Gallery in Leicester Square.
Abune Theophilos kisses the hand of HIM Haile Selassie I, as a sign of respect and gratitude on the day of his ordination as the second Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Christian church. The Emperor would have kissed the Bible or the patriarch's hand or cross before that.
Published: 16 October 2007Issue: 1291
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