Colonel Demeke Zewdu (Amharic: ደመቀ ዘውዱ) is an Ethiopian politician and former army officer who is a key figure in Welkait dispute, advocating Amhara self-government over Welkait district, which is now part of Western Tigray Zone.
[2] Demeke Zewdu was born into a farming family with a Tigrayan father and an Amhara mother, and grew up in Telelo, in southern Welkait Tegede.
[1] During his teenage years, he began a military career by joining the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) insurgency against the Derg regime during the Ethiopian Civil War.
[3][4] Demeke served as the head of Wolkait Committee in 2015, which was consisted of 20 members at that time.
In February 2018, it was reported that charges against Demeke, General Asaminew Tsige, General Tefera Mamo, Nigist Yirga, Getachew Adamu, Atalay Zerfe and more than 90 others is dropped.