No society is immune from the signs of hatred and hate speech. In Ethiopia too, there is a serious and growing problem of hate speech, offline and online. By exploring lessons learned from Germany, South Africa and Kenya, this research seeks to interrogate how ‘hate speech’ is regulated in Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia passed a comprehensive law called Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation (HsDPSP) No.1185/2020 to combat hate speech both online and offline. The study reveals that while the government's move to regulate hate speech is progressive, the hate speech legislation fails to strike a proper balance between freedom of expression and hate speech which may pose a risk of excessive regulation. This research examined how the definition of hate speech lacks clarity thereby will result in subjective interpretation, which could also infringe freedom of speech. Ethiopia is a country of diverse society in which the interpretation of history of nations, nationalities and peoples is contested and also the existence of wider social, economic or political problems or divisions in the society is a fertile ground for hateful messages. Using a doctrinal and comparative legal research methods, the research argues that a meaning full regulation of hate speech in Ethiopia requires in addition to legislative intervention among other things addressing the mutual mistrust, ‘oppressor versus oppressed’ narrative between various groups, through working on national reconciliation, meaningful grass-root dialogue, and efforts to build common destiny. Hence, multilayered approach is relevant for addressing the limitations of the use of legislation to regulate hate speech as well as the root causes, such as ethnic politics