Draped in a headscarf and using a new name, cancer conwoman Belle Gibson has appeared in a video claiming to be adopted by Melbourne’s Ethiopian community.
In the video, posted on Facebook by Shabo Media in October, a Gibson goes by the name Sabontu and speaks at length about the ongoing plight of the Oromo people.
“I felt completely adopted by your nation and your people and I feel like my heart is as invested as yours and your families,” she says in the video.
“I see no difference in your struggle and the struggle that I have for fighting for the liberation of Ormea.”
Watch: Belle Gibson speaks about her role in the Ethiopian community. Post continues after video.
The fraudster says she has been involved in the community for about four years through volunteering and has become “deeply invested” in it.
However, the interviewers say they did not know who she was at the time, and neither did the community, a Shabo Media spokesman told AAP.
“She used to come to our meetings regularly and we loved how she showed interest in our people, but the community has pulled out from her after discovering her story,” he said.
“It’s weird, we interview different people at our events and we thought she was just an Australian girl hanging around. We didn’t pick her for the video because she was somebody.”
Introducing herself in Oromo language, the video shows Gibson speaking at length about the current political situation in Ethiopia, and giving them advice.
Gibson’s even goes as far as calling on Nobel Peace Prize winner and prime minister Abiy Ahmed not to follow the path of Ethiopian leaders of the past.
The discovery of the vision comes a day after the 28-year-old’s Northcote home was raided and assets seized by the Victorian sheriff.
The raid was an effort to recoup part of a $500,000 fine she received for falsely claiming she cured herself of brain cancer with natural remedies, including diet and alternative therapies.
Gibson’s fame as a wellness guru led her to release an app and a cookbook, from which she received $440,500, but donated only about $10,000.
Gibson appeared in the Federal Court last year claiming she was unable to pay the fine, despite a financial analysis showing she spent about $91,000 between 2017 and 2019 on clothes, cosmetics and holidays – including one to East Africa.
Featured image via Shabo Media.
READ: In 2015, Belle Gibson was exposed as a fraud. This is what her life looks like now.
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Top Comments
She needs to get some help. Sad thing is i now wonder if this is also a con.
This girls needs a psychiatrist, she is clearly not a well person.