In 1974, with the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy, the widowed Duchess of Harar and her sons were all placed under detention, with the exception of Prince Taffari who was abroad at school and Prince David Makonnen who was attending advanced military training in the United States.

After a long and harsh imprisonment, Princess Sara was released by the Derg regime along with the other female members of the Imperial family in 1989.

After the fall of the Derg regime, Princess Sara and her sons were allowed to travel abroad.

It was widely believed that Emperor Haile Selassie favoured the Duke of Harar over all his other children, and it was even rumoured that the Emperor even considered naming Makonnen as his heir, instead of his liberal elder son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen.

However, Prince Makonnen died in a car crash in 1957 on his way to the resort town of Nazreth from Debre Zeyit, east of Addis Ababa.