Many Gabbra are genealogically Somali Garres who got cut off from their brethren by the Borana. Gabbra actually means client. Garres supported Somalia during the Ogaden war, as did some Gabbra, while the Boranas generally Oppose Somali irredentist movement . The Gabbras who are deeply tied to the Borana system are less pro Somali than those who are more Islamic. Indentity is also fluid with these groups and can change according to politics:But Garre of today are considered Somali though?
“Inter-regional Conflicts: Somali Region 191 Consequently, he switched allegiance from the Oromo to the Somali
region. He furthermore defended his position by saying:
All the Gabbra in terms of ancestry (genealogy) are Somali. The way we build houses is more similar with the Somali than the Borana. We keep camels like our Somali brothers, while the Borana were traditionally engaged in the husbandry of cattle. We worship one God (Allah) like the Somali, while the Borana do not worship in one God. We share more similarities with the Somali clans than the Borana. As a result, the Gabbra are no Oromo but Somali.
Another high profile Gabbra politician, Shenu Godana, also switched his loyalty from the Oromia to the Somali region. Shenu served as member of the federal parliament representing the OPDO and the Moyale woreda for ten years (1995-2005) in Addis Ababa. After his tenure at the federal parliament, he became head of the Borana zone’s Bureau of Popular Organisation and Mobilisation. Nevertheless, when the Oromia region sacked him from his position, he switched his allegiance to the Somali. Consequently, the Somali region gave him a position within the Somali Moyale woreda administration. He now promotes the idea that the Gabbra are all Somali and should be under the administration of the Somali region. He defends his switching of identity as follows.23
Initially, when the EPRDF controlled the country (1991-2), the Gabbra, the Garre and the Borana rallied behind different Oromo ethnic movements. When ethnic and clan division occurred, the Garre joined the Somali; some Gabbra also joined the Somali. I and some other Gabbra leaders, however, joined the Oromo. The reason for our decision to join the Oromia region was to safeguard the interest of our people who live in the midst of the Borana in such areas as Yabello, Arero, Negele and others. We were afraid that if all of the Gabbra leaders join the Somali, the Borana would attack our clan. My decision to leave the OPDO (Oromia) and join the SPDP (Somali) was because of my realisation that I could not provide security to the Gabbra who live in the midst of the Borana. I felt that the officials of the Borana zone were directly and indirectly involved in Borana violence against the Gabbra. When I voiced my opposition about the handling of the conflict between the Borana and the Gabbra to the zonal authorities, I was removed from my position. I then went to the Somali region and was given a position within the Moyale Somali woreda.