When a conflict over grazing rights between two groups of Oromo was ignored by the central government, after waiting in vain for three months Waqo Gutu "went to Somalia and brought back 42 rifles and two Thompson submachine guns.

"[4] Waqo's journey took place early in 1965; the revolt itself had been raging since June 1963 when Kahin Abdi openly defied the government in Afder.

The local Oromo peasants lost tens of thousands of hectares, which was redistributed to Orthodox Christian settlers who moved down from the north and had fought against the rebels.

[7] With the eruption of the Ethiopian revolution, Waqo Gutu visited several countries, including Somalia to raise funds with which to arm and galvanize the struggle.

In 2000 he formed the ULFO to unite the disparate armed and political groups fighting for the right to self-determination of the Oromo, and led as chairman from 2002 until he was taken ill and flown to Nairobi where he died after three months' hospitalisation.