Representatives from @UNHCR_KENYA, @UNICEFKenya, WFP, @IFRCAfrica, Refugee Affairs Secretariat and Kenya #RedCross, visit Moyale to see first-hand the situation of the over 9000 displaced persons from Ethiopia.
SPILLOVER: Ethiopia’s political crisis is now spilling over into Kenya’s borders. – Quartz Africa #MoyaleMassacre March 20, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #MoyaleMassacre, #OromoProtests, #Prevent #Genocide, Africa, Current Horn of Africa news, Ethiopia, Genocide Against Oromo People, Human rights violation, Kenya, Oromia, Quartz Africa, Refugee Crisis, Tyranny of TPLF Ethiopia
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Persisent crisis. (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo)
The refugees fled the restive Oromia region following a botched military operation targeting members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front. During a raid on the villages, the government said faulty intelligence led soldiers to “mistakenly” kill nine civilians and injure 12 others. Since then, the unrest and fear has forced thousands—including 600 expectant mothers, disabled, and elderly persons—to flee into the border town of Moyale in Kenya and establish makeshift camps. The UN refugee agency said it was difficult to assess how many more people had fled since many were being housed by friends and relatives.
The outbreak of violence comes weeks after the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front’s council imposed a six-month a state of emergency amid mass anti-government protests. The grassroots opposition to the government largely stemmed from the Oromos and Amharas, who for over two years now have decried systematic exclusion, land grabs by the minority Tigray-dominated state, besides limited representation in senior government posts.
The government reacted to these protests with force, drawing sharp criticism from its allies in the West. The unrest also jeopardized the nation’s booming economy and its place as an important center for global apparel sourcing.
In January, in a move described as a salve for the Oromo, the government announced it would close an infamous detention center and release political prisoners, including those awaiting trial. And in a corollary gesture, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned in mid-February, opening up a succession game and bitter internal wrangles. Opposition figures insisted that tepid reforms or half-hearted concessions won’t solve the country’s problems, calling for the system of governance to be overhauled.
The EPRDF is set to meet soon to choose its next leader. Chris Suckling, a senior analyst with IHS Markit, says Abiy Ahmed who leads the Oromo party that makes up the ruling alliance “is the most likely successor as prime minister.” Suckling said Ahmed was a favorite given his close relationship with Oromo youth and the country’s political and security agencies.
In Moyale, meanwhile, the displaced refugees continue to arrive daily, narrating stories of horror from the villages straddling the border on the other side.
Related (Oromian Economist sources):
- World Food Program fears more refugee inflow from Ethiopia. #MoyaleMassacre
- Ethiopia crisis is ‘the beginning of the end of autocracy’ – Kenyan security expert. Africa News
- Ethiopians online laud Oromia official detained for tough talk against military | Africanews. #MoyaleMassacre #OromoProtests
- Ethiopian refugees in Kenya narrates ordeal.- Today #MoyaleeMassacre
- ‘Freedom!’: the mysterious movement that brought Ethiopia to a standstill.- The Guardian
- #MoyaleMassacre: Indiscriminate Mass Murder in Moyale, Southern Oromia Carried out by the fascist Ethiopia’s TPLF Regime. #Prevent #Genocide
- Fascist Ethiopia’s regime arrests critical blogger and professor of Ambo University, Seyoum Teshome. #FreeSeyoumTeshome
- Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Law: A Tool to Stifle Dissent, OAKLAND Institute
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World Food Program fears more refugee inflow from Ethiopia. #MoyaleMassacre March 19, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #MoyaleMassacre, #Prevent #Genocide, Africa, Current Horn of Africa news, Ethiopia, Ethiopia Crisis, Genocide Against Oromo People, Human rights violation, Kenya, Oromia, Tyrannic TPLF Ethiopia
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The number of Ethiopians who fled to Kenya following the killings of 10 civilians in the border town of Moyale has reached 9,600 according to the organization’s Kenya Branch Office spokes person, Peter Smerdon, as cited by DW Amharic. The spokesperson added that most of the refugees are women and children.
The refugees are in need of food aid and housing. Some are said to be in need of medical assistance as well. Kenyan Red Cross distributed some food yesterday.
Our team distributing food to displaced persons from Ethiopia in Moyale sub-county.
“The number could rise,” says Peter, “due to the situation in Ethiopia.” UNHCR is poised to send a mission to Moyale to assess the situation.
On the other hand, Ethiopian authorities claim that effort is underway to return the thousands of Ethiopians who fled to Kenya after what government claimed was an accidental killings of civilians.
Government disclosed that yesterday when Federal Police Commissioner, General Assefa Abiyu, appeared on state Television,Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, “to share update on the state of emergency.” It is,however, unclear as to how the government is coordinating the matter with the government of Kenya, which reportedly closed the border with Ethiopia after Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebel groups attacked military convoy.
The Command Post arrested Oromo regional state Justice department spokesperson, Taye Denea, for remarking, during an interview with DW Amharic, that the killing in Moyale does not seem to be accidental based on information he has.
Days after the Ethiopian government claimed the killing in Moyale as a “mistake”, a ten years old boy was killed which some understood it to be a reckless and deliberate killing. In view of that, doubts are surfacing if the regime in power would be able to secure the repatriation of Ethiopians who fled to Kenya since last Friday.
Related (Oromian Economist sources):
Nearly 10,000 Ethiopians seek asylum in Moyale, Kenya following violence back home.- UNHCR Kenya
“I was really scared, so I decided to cross the border with my family to Kenya for safety”
Balanish Tadese, an Ethiopian mother of two, walks through a makeshift refugee camp in Moyale, Kenya, with a bundle of personal belongings strapped to her back. Her 6-year-old son, Abdi, and 9 year old daughter, Sarah, follow close behind, clutching personal belongings in their hands. They’re looking for something to eat or drink and somewhere to stay.
This family is among around 9,700 asylum seekers that have arrived in Moyale over the last week from the Oromia region of Ethiopia. The refugees allege 13 people were killed when Ethiopian soldiers attacked their villages, in a raid on opposition areas. Oromia has been the scene of protests and violence before.
Tadese explains what she saw.
“One of my neighbours was shot and killed during the day as he came from a school meeting in our village. The following day, another neighbor was strangled as he went to the shops in the evening. I was really scared, so I decided to cross the border to Kenya for safety”
There are over 600 expectant mothers.
More than 80 per cent of those that fled are women and children, nearly 1500 are under age 5, with one child being just 6 days old. There are over 600 expectant mothers. Some disabled and elderly persons also fled.
The asylum seekers are staying in two makeshift camps in the Somare and Sololo areas of Moyale. They are in urgent need of food, water, sanitation facilities, shelter, and some have medical needs.
Tadese says her and her children have not eaten well for days. She’s worried that her children will become ill if they do not get help.
Tadese and others who fled with her say they are worried about the security situation back home, and fear being situated in camps close to the border with Ethiopia. So it’s not clear how long the asylum seekers might stay in Moyale.
UNHCR’s partner Kenya Red Cross Society responded immediately to provide shelter material, blankets, kitchen utensils as well as medical, water and hygiene services. The County government also provided emergency food assistance to the asylum seekers.
Other UN and humanitarian organisations are also collaborating in the multi-agency emergency response by providing various life-saving services.
The Kenyan Government is looking at reducing the number of makeshift camps, so UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency in Kenya, the Kenya Red Cross, and others can meet the needs of those that have arrived more effectively. UNHCR is also helping the Government of Kenya register the asylum seekers, while ongoing assessments are being made about what to do long term.
One of the challenges is that some of the asylum seekers are staying with relatives and friends in Moyale, so it’s difficult to know precisely how many more have fled and are affected, and what their needs might be.
- #MoyaleMassacre: Indiscriminate Mass Murder in Moyale, Southern Oromia Carried out by the fascist Ethiopia’s TPLF Regime. #Prevent #Genocide
- Ethiopia crisis is ‘the beginning of the end of autocracy’ – Kenyan security expert. Africa News
- Ethiopians online laud Oromia official detained for tough talk against military | Africanews.
- Fascist Ethiopia’s regime arrests critical blogger and professor of Ambo University, Seyoum Teshome. #FreeSeyoumTeshome
- Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Law: A Tool to Stifle Dissent, OAKLAND Institute
- Ethiopia must probe and prosecute culprits of recent killings: U.N. – Africa News
Ethiopia crisis is ‘the beginning of the end of autocracy’ – Kenyan security expert. Africa News March 19, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #MoyaleMassacre, #OromoProtests, #Prevent #Genocide, Africa, Africa News, Ethiopia, Genocide Against Oromo, Kenya, Oromia, The Tyranny of Ethiopia
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ETHIOPIA
A Kenyan conflict analysis resolution expert says Kenya must employ diplomatic channels to help Ethiopia out of the current political crisis it finds itself in.
According to Hassan Khannenje, the current state of affairs was just a matter of time after decades of iron fist rule by the Ethiopia Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Speaking on a political talk show hosted by NTV Kenya channel he stressed that Ethiopia was nearing the end of authoritarian rule. “I don’t see the current Ethiopian crisis as the beginning of democracy (actually) I see it as the beginning of the end of autocracy.
Ever since the days of Hailesellasie to Mengistu Hailemariam and then after he was overthrown (really), there has never been a debate in Ethiopia or political space, essentially it has been a police state.
“Ever since the days of Hailesellasie to Mengistu Hailemariam and then after he was overthrown (really), there has never been a debate in Ethiopia or political space, essentially it has been a police state,” he stressed.
He averred that in the absence of a substantive head of government, i.e. a Prime Minister, the country was confused, adding that the state of emergency did not help matters because it is often used to repress opposition groups.
“And this is a culmination of many years of autocracy and authoritarianism. Now, in the absence of the Prime Minister at the moment or at least the state control of power in certain places, a lot of time the opposition tends to suffer, it gets scapegoated, it gets repressed.
“… the Oromo being the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and having been resistant to the status quo for many years, of course they are going kto get the first flak. Now, Kenya had seen this coming and we cannot pretend we were unaware of the goings on in Ethiopia.
Kenya until recently had not actively waded into the Ethiopian situation. The recent influx of thousands of refugees following a botched military operation in the border town of Moyale has forced the media to discuss Ethiopia.
“This was bound to happen sooner or later and what I am hoping is our Minister of Foreign Affairs or Interior have a moral bust approach both diplomatically with Ethiopia to make sure that thing does not overflow.
“But also to use its influence on the current rulers within at least on the Ethiopian circles, at least, to try and calm things down. Today Ethiopia needs help. They are still trying to figure out a direction where to go from here, they are confused,” he said.
Ethiopian refugees in Kenya narrates ordeal.- Today #MoyaleeMassacre March 15, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #MoyaleMassacre, #Prevent #Genocide, Africa, Ethiopia, Genocide against the Oromo, Kenya, Moyale, Oromia, Oromo, State terror
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More than 8,000 Ethiopian refugees have arrived in Moyale Town, Marsabit County in Kenya with tales on how they were evacuated from their homes by soldiers.
They fled the country in the wake of their government’s crackdown on dissidents, with Ethiopian soldiers being accused of killing at least 13 people on Saturday.
The refugees accused the Ethiopian government of abdicating its responsibility of protecting its citizens.
The camps where the 8,200 Ethiopians are staying in Moyale are at Butiye Social Hall, Somare, an NGO camp at Moyale, a plot owned by Marsabit Governor Mahmoud Mohamed and Dambala Fachana Village.
Mr Harsame Halakhe, a 68-year-old father of 19, said that when the soldiers raided their homes, they ordered them to lie down and shot some of them dead.
“Even places of worship, including mosques, became chambers of death. People were killed in a mosque as we watched. We escaped death narrowly and fled with children and cattle,” he said.
Ms Kashure Guyo, 18, said the soldiers attacked them on Saturday at Shawa-bare, a town located three kilometres from the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
She said the soldiers shot at anyone they came across. She was injured in the leg and hand as she fled. “They just came to the market and started shooting. We had to flee for our lives with bullets flying all over.”
Ms Abdia Galma, a 56-year-old mother of 11, said the conflict had been building up over the past several years.
She said the genesis of the crisis was land that had been allocated to some members of one community she did not name.
The refugees spoke even as the Kenya Red Cross Society sounded the alarm over the influx. The society appealed to the humanitarian and security agencies to set up a proper camp for the refugees.
Even as more refugees arrived in the Kenyan border town yesterday, there was no designated area for the consolidation of the numbers and their registration, KRCS upper eastern coordinator Talaso Chucha said.
She noted that the refugees were arriving in the villages, where they were being assisted by their Kenyan relatives and friends, with no proper record of how many they were. Ms Chucha also decried the security risk as there was no system in place to screen and monitor the movement of the refugees arriving in the town.
“So far, they are 8,200 and more are arriving every hour. We have identified at least five points, where they have been assisted by the local community, but we cannot coordinate help when they are scattered. There is a need for a camp to enable us to mobilise resources and avert a crisis,” she said.
At least 15 paramedics had been deployed to Moyale to help the refugees, she said.
“There is a major potential health risk for the refugees and the host community because there are no amenities in the places where they are staying. There is no food, clean water and bedding.
“Children are defecating in the open. Although, so far, there are no reported cases of serious diseases, we cannot rule out an outbreak of cholera if the situation is not addressed,” Ms Chucha warned.
The National Drought and Management Authority’s Marsabit County boss, Mr Golicha Guyo, Tuesday said they had called an emergency meeting with all the stakeholders to assess the situation.
“We want to come up with an urgent solution to the crisis because more than 50 people are living in one home,” he said.
Related from Oromian Economist Sources:-
Har’a Eegdonni Daangaa Itiyoophiyaa Dhukaasan Bananiin Daa’ima Waggaa Saddeetii Tu Du’e. Uummanni Kuma Hedduun Moyaalee Iraa Gama Keeniyaatti Baqate Haala Akkamiitti Jira? VOA Afaan Oromoo
A brutal crackdown on protest and the return of soldiers to the streets of Oromia region has fuelled growing anger and frustration with central government, The Guardian
IRIN: Feature: Ethiopian Oromo refugees face bribes, harassment in Kenya January 12, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, ETHIOPIA SPYMASTER INFILTRATES KENYA POLICE, Kenya, Oromo community in Kenya, Oromo Refugees, Refugee Crisis, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Urgent Concern for Oromo Refugees
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Charlie Ensor , A freelance journalist, focusing on humanitarian and development issues, IRIN
Ethiopian Oromo refugees fleeing to Kenya to escape persecution say they are finding life on the streets of Nairobi no better than the insecurity they left behind, as they are targeted by bribes and harassment and forced into vast camps with few prospects or protections.
The Oromo are Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group but have long complained of political and economic marginalisation at the hands of the country’s ruling party, which is dominated by a minority ethnic group, the Tigrayans.
Following 2016 protests demanding political reform, which resulted in a state of emergency and the deaths of more than 600 in the security crackdown, thousands of Oromo made their way to neighbouring Kenya seeking asylum and refuge.
But they did not escape the Ethiopian authorities. Human Rights Watch has reported “numerous cases of harassment and threats” against Oromo asylum seekers in Kenya by Ethiopian government officials.
The rights group has also documented “confessions” by Kenyan police officers in which they admit to being offered bribes by the Ethiopian embassy to detain and intimidate Oromo refugees.
“When I came to Kenya I thought that I would be protected and would be able to start a new life,” said former Oromo politician “Tolessa”, who requested his identity be protected.
“[But] what I’m facing here is no different from what I was facing at home,” he told IRIN. “My future here isn’t very bright.”
Full of “spies”
Oromo refugees also reported attempts by Ethiopian officials to recruit them as informants in Nairobi’s Oromo community, promising land, protection, money, and even resettlement to the United States or elsewhere, Human Rights Watch noted.
“There are a lot of Ethiopian spies here in Nairobi,” one refugee, a former Ethiopian intelligence officer, alias “Demiksa”, told IRIN.
Now a senior dissident, “Demiksa” related what had happened to him back in Ethiopia.
He said that after refusing orders to torture prisoners held in Addis Ababa’s infamous Maekelawi prison, he was accused of being an opposition collaborator, detained, and then tortured himself.
“They tied my hands up and hung me up on the wall with nails and beat me with electric cables around my ankles and on my back,” he told IRIN, fighting tears. “I couldn’t walk for three months,” he added.
“Demiksa” said he was spared capital punishment on one condition: kill or be killed. Handed photographs of two prominent Oromo activists, he was given a loaded gun and told to get into a car.
He accepted the mission – “I had no choice,” he told IRIN – but was able to escape en route to the hit, and then fled Ethiopia.
When he arrived in Nairobi, “Demiksa” was told to register at the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya like all other Ethiopian exiles.
The long arm of Ethiopian security
But Oromo who fear being stalked by Ethiopian intelligence believe even Kakuma is not safe.
“Threats from Ethiopian security officials – working together with local [Kenyan] police – also extend to the refugee camps [in Kenya],” Human Rights Watch researcher Felix Horne told IRIN.
Horne said Oromo activists who have come from cities in Ethiopia fear camp life because of the lack of employment opportunities, the heat, and Kakuma’s physical proximity to Ethiopia.
But they have darker fears too.
Oromo refugees have reportedly been kidnapped from Kenya and taken back to Ethiopia, and there have been similar reports from Sudan, Djibouti, Uganda, and Somaliland.
“This is not unique to Kenya,” Horne said. “The patterns of pervasive Ethiopian security presence utilising local security officials is similar in other countries where Ethiopians flee to.”
Tariku Debela, a political refugee living in Kampala who fled Kenya in April 2016, still remains a target for Ethiopian security forces. He told IRIN that his scars bear witness both to the torture he received in Ethiopia and an attempt on his life in Uganda.
“Some people came to my hotel room, drugged me, and then beat me up,” he explained to IRIN over the phone. “People living nearby heard what was happening and came to my rescue. One of [the attackers] was arrested.”
A Ugandan police investigation revealed “that the men who attacked me were sent from Ethiopia to kill me,” he added.
After imploring the UN refugee agency several times to offer him protection, Debela now stays in a UNHCR safe house, but doesn’t get much else in the way of assistance.
“UNHCR haven’t even tried to help me process my case for resettlement,” he told IRIN. “Since I am a political refugee, I shouldn’t have to stay here for the rest of my life.”
UNHCR has a mandate to provide protection to refugees, including political figures like “Demiksa” and Debela.
“The documentation issued to them by the government and UNHCR gives them the right to reside legally in Kenya and protects them from deportation to their country of origin or expulsion from Kenya,” Yvonne Ndege, senior communications officer at UNHCR, told IRIN.“There are some high-profile cases, such as the Oromo; sometimes their cases are expedited through the registration process,” she added.
But some say this policy exists only in theory.
“In practice, there is very little protection afforded to Oromo refugees,” Horne told IRIN. “Individuals with serious security issues – some of whom are high-profile individuals – often receive no practical protection whatsoever from these agencies.”
Bribes, harassment, and detention
Kenya has an encampment policy – refugees are supposed to stay in one of two vast refugee camps that house 489,000 people: Dadaab and Kakuma. That means those found in urban centres without proper documentation are vulnerable to extortion and intimidation by the police.
Refugees IRIN spoke to in Nairobi mentioned regularly having to pay bribes to avoid harassment. The going rate is up to $200 for a permit to avoid being sent to Kakuma.
Life for those who can’t afford to pay is bleak. “Because I don’t have my papers I stay at home so that I can be safe from police,” teenager Fozia told IRIN.
Fozia fled Ethiopia following a brutal crackdown on students in her hometown in Oromia. After student protesters dispersed, she says police followed her home, then raped and beat her. She decided to flee.
Despite coming to Kenya as an unaccompanied minor, Fozia hasn’t been helped by the authorities. Without the ability to bribe registration officers at Nairobi’s government-run refugee registration centre, Shauri Moyo, she can’t officially register with UNHCR for refugee status determination.
“I was given a movement pass to Kakuma, but I feared going there, especially as a young girl,” she explained.
Neither can Fozia afford to bribe officials to gain an all-important exemption permit that would allow her to legally avoid going to Kakuma.
“Without that, I’m told by UNHCR to either go to Kakuma or register for exemption at Shauri Moyo,” she said.
Many other refugees face the same hurdles.
“I still haven’t received exemption,” another former Oromo politician and victim of torture in Maekelawi who preferred to remain anonymous, told IRIN.
“I’ve been ordered to bribe officers with $200 to gain exemption from camp,” the former politician said. “I don’t have that sort of money. I also stay indoors to avoid having to pay police officers that harass me.”
Following registration with Shauri Moyo, refugees can then apply for a government of Kenya “alien card” for asylum recognition. But several refugees told IRIN that this process also entails under the table payments – ranging from $300 to $485.
Such allegations of corruption and extortion are denied by Kenya’s Refugee Affairs Secretariat, known as RAS.
UNHCR “concerned”
Once refugees are able to access asylum, their cases are referred to UNHCR for refugee status determination, which is necessary for official recognition as a refugee.
But many refugees are having to wait years to even get an interview.
“I was supposed to have an appointment in March this year,” one woman complained. “You just turn up to their office [UNHCR], stand in line, and wait for your turn. Then they tell you that they can’t see you that day.”
She went on to explain how they typically just give you another appointment letter with a different date and year and tell you to wait.
“They didn’t even give me another appointment date last time – they just told me that they would call me,” she said. “I still haven’t heard anything yet [since her March appointment].”
Recognising these concerns, the UN refugee agency insisted it is committed to improving the registration system.
“UNHCR is concerned about the time being taken for asylum seekers and refugees to receive proper documentation,” UNHCR’s Ndege told IRIN, adding that it was working to streamline its registration processes.
But Horne from Human Rights Watch said neither UNHCR nor RAS are doing enough right now to protect vulnerable Oromo.
“Country guidelines on Ethiopia that officers use to assess asylum claims should be updated as they are over 10 years old and do not remotely reflect the current situation in Ethiopia,” he said.
Oromo opposition to rulers in Addis Ababa stretches back centuries. The current ruling party, the EPRDF, has used federalism to dilute that dissent, but it has persisted.
Charlie Ensor/IRIN
An Oromo activist in Nairobi, crosses his arms in an Oromo symbol of solidarity
In the unrest in 2016 and 2017, the Oromo were joined by the second largest ethnic group, the Amharas, in the demand for political reform – posing a significant challenge to the government.
Reform at last?
In a surprise announcement at the beginning of the month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn announced that his government would close Maekelawi prison and release political prisoners in a move he said would advance political dialogue with opposition groups.
“The regime realises that the political landscape is shifting rapidly and that they have to find a way forward to deal with ethnic tension and communal violence,” Ahmed Soliman, associate researcher at Chatham House, told IRIN.
But this all depends on how sincere the government is on reforming and its willingness to admit the violations it has committed – including in neighbouring countries.
As Amnesty International researcher Fisseha Tekele put it after Desalegn’s announcement: “A new chapter for human rights will only be possible if all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment are effectively investigated and those responsible brought to justice.”
(TOP PHOTO: Eastleigh, Nairobi. Home to Nairobi’s refugees. CREDIT: Charlie Ensor/IRIN)
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Kenya election ruling wins Africans’ admiration September 7, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in Africa, Uncategorized.Tags: African Affairs, Democracy, East African Afairs, Elections, Kenya, Kenya election
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Kenya’s Supreme Court judge chief justice David Maraga (C) presides before delivering the ruling making last month’s presidential election in which Uhuru Kenyatta’s win was declared invalid in Nairobi, Kenya September 1, 2017.Reuters/Baz Ratner
The Kenyan Supreme Court’s decision to scrap last month’s presidential election, has been held up as an example of judicial independence on a continent where judges are often seen as corrupt. Opposion parties across Africa hope the shock overturn will have ripple effects in their own countries.
The court found that the electoral commission “committed irregularities in the transmission of results.”
That was enough to convince a majority in Chief Justice David Maraga’s panel to annul the results of the 8 August election.
“The greatness of a nation lies in its fidelity to its constitution and a strict adherence to the rule of law,” Justice Maraga declared on 1 September when he delivered his shock verdict.
“It’s one of the only times you’ve ever seen a sitting president’s election be overturned by the court of law. This rarely happens,” Nic Cheeseman, a professor of democracy and international development at the University of Birmingham, told RFI.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, after initially welcoming the decision, vowed to “fix” the court if reelected and called Chief Justice Maraga and the other judges crooks.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the election, called the ruling historic and a precedent for the whole of Africa.
“For the first time in the history of African democratisation a ruling has been made by a court nullifying irregular elections of a president,” he said.
His supporters erupted in disbelieving joy at the news, partly because Odinga had previously lost four elections, and cried fraud in all of them.
Previous poll violence
“It’s a proud moment to be Kenyan,” Dennis Owino, a political analyst with Kenya Insights told RFI.
“For a long time, Kenya has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons,” he says, in reference to the violence that marred the presidential polls in 2007 and 2013, as well as last month when at least 24 people were killed, most of them by the security forces.
Kenya’s image then was far removed from its current one as a beacon of democracy.
But the Supreme Court ruling didn’t find favour with everyone.
“The way people voted is what counts, it’s what matters and not more about how the votes are transmitted because it’s clear that Kenyans voted and voted well, and that there was no problem in the voting,” Wahome Thuku, a supporter of the ruling Jubilee Party told RFI.
Kenyatta’s lawyers said the vote overturn was politically motivated and that another round of voting was unnecessary.
“Everyone was in agreement that people voted and that the problem was in the transmission of the votes,” continues Thuku. “Will we have to go to the polls each time there are one or two irregularities?”
Observers criticised
Kenya’s election commission had declared Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes in a poll vetted by the international community. Today those same observers mostly from the US and the EU, are now under scrutiny.
“A lot of the actual process around the election immediately looked like it was better, the machines worked in more constituencies than in 2013,” explains Nic Cheeseman, who monitored the 2013 polls as today.
“It was only later that we started to realise that certain forms weren’t available, that some results were being confirmed without the right forms and that process didn’t appear to be tight that certain concerns began to be expressed,” he says.
Those concerns were taken seriously by the Supreme Court, enough to annul the results.
Several Kenyan papers have since described Justice Maraga as a person of integrity, in stark contrast to the image of coruption that has long plagued the judiciary in Kenya and elsewhere on the African continent.
Ugandan opposition looks to Kenya
In Uganda the fallout from last year’s presidential elections are still being felt in one district in the north, Dokolo, where the outgoing chairman JB Okello Okello lost his seat to the ruling party’s candidate Paul Amoro, in a vote which many say was rigged.
“In respect of Okello Okello versus the electoral commission, it did not meet the expectations of the law that we believe should have been considered and adjudicated over,” Olal Justine, JB Okello Okello’s lawyer told RFI.
Justine says he hopes Uganda will emulate Kenya.
“We hope that what has happened in Kenya should have a positive ripple effect in the region and that those who feel aggrieved should have confidence going to court knowing that they will get justice.”
Kenyatta under fire
Back in Kenya, Kenyatta’s fierce reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision has fueled suspicion that he was complicit in the IEBC’s electoral fraud, says analyst Dennis Owino.
“If indeed the president won the election with clean hands then you’d expect the president to be mad at the IEBC for incompetence, that has cost him the victory.”
Instead that anger is being channeled at the judiciary, retorts Owino.
“He is still rooting for the same IEBC that has been found guilty of running a shambolic election, so in a sense the president is endorsing impunity, he’s endorsing electoral fraud,” he comments.
Although the Supreme Court found that there was sufficient evidence of tampering in the transmission of results to warrant a rerun, it found no misconduct on the part of Kenyatta himself.
The court’s full reasoning won’t be available for another few days. While it has ordered IEBC to organise a fresh poll in 60 days, it has not spelt out its plans for the compositon of the electoral commission this time round.
The opposition says it won’t take part if the IEBC remains the same.
“I think it’s hard to imagine an election in which we change the electoral commission 60 days out and then have a better quality election, I think that just doesn’t seem very likely to me,” reckons Cheeseman.
This uncertainty raises the risk that, if Kenya experiences another bad election, there could be renewed conflict in the courts or on the streets.
Kenya’s supreme court has annulled last month’s presidential election and called for a new vote — Quartz September 1, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in Africa, Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, Elections, Jubilee, Kenya, Kenya Decides, Kenya Presidential Election, NASA, Raila Odinga
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Kenya’s supreme court has declared the results of last month’s presidential election invalid and ordered a new vote. Incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta won 54% of the now-nullified vote, defeating opposition leader Raila Odinga.
Chief justice David Maraga said the presidential election held on Aug. 8 “was not conducted in accordance with the constitution… rendering the declared results invalid, null and void.” According to Maraga, the court found “irregularities and illegalities” in the transmission of results. He ordered the electoral commission to hold a fresh presidential election within 60 days.
Cheers outside the courtroom and across Nairobi could be heard, with crowds chanting, “Uhuru must go!”
Odinga, claiming Kenya’s electronic electoral system was hacked to rig the results in favor of Kenyatta, had petitioned the court to examine the election. The electoral commission denied the results were hacked and international observers said they witnessed no signs of manipulation. The court invalidated the election with a majority of five of seven judges. The dissenters, Jackton Ojwang’ and Njoki Ndung’u, said none of the irregularities “occurred deliberately and in bad faith.” The court said it would deliver its full judgment within the next 21 days.
The court’s decision throws Kenya into a state of uncertainty. It’s not clear whether the current members of the electoral commission will need to be replaced. The Nairobi Securities Exchange halted trading for half an hour after an index of its 20 largest companies fell by more than 5%.
Kenya’s sixth election since introducing multi-party democracy in the 1990s, has been marred by widespread public mistrust, fake news, and violence. This is the first time a court has annulled an election in Kenya.
A week before the election, a senior election official was found dead, apparently tortured, outside of Nairobi. After election results were released, police cracked down on protesters in parts of Nairobi and Kisumu, an Odinga stronghold, killing at least 28 Kenyans, including a 10-year old girl and a six-month old baby. Locals and foreign observers worry about a repeat of Kenya’s 2007 election, when disputed results ended in post-election violence that claimed the lives of at least 1,600 people and displaced more than half a million.
Today, Odinga said that the court’s decision was “a first in the history of African democratization.” Odinga, surrounded by supporters in front of the supreme court offices in Nairobi, called the ruling “a triumph for the people of Kenya.” Kenyatta’s lawyer, meanwhile, dismissed the court’s move as a “political decision.”
In other ways, the election was a success. Voter turnout was high, with more than 15 million out of 19.6 million registered voters casting their ballots. Two-thirds of local legislators were voted out, and 25 of 47 governors did not win a second term.
Kenya’s supreme court has declared the results of last month’s presidential election invalid and ordered a new vote. Incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta won 54% of the now-nullified vote, defeating opposition leader Raila Odinga. Chief justice David Maraga said the presidential election held on Aug. 8 “was not conducted in accordance with the constitution… rendering the declared…
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ASLII GALGALOO DAANDII BOSONTUU GAAFII FII DEEBII ARTIST ALIYYI SABIT STN KENYA WALIIN August 25, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in Oromo Art, Oromo Artists, Oromo Culture, Oromo Music.Tags: Africa, ALIYYI SABIT, DAANDII BOSONTUU, Kenya, Oromia, Oromo, Oromo music
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ASLII GALGALOO DAANDII BOSONTUU GAAFII FI DEEBII ARTIST ALIYYI SABIT STN KENYA WALIIN JULY
New African: A conspiracy in the wild June 14, 2017
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, Environment & Natural Resources, Indigenous People, Kenya, Land Grabs, Land grabs in Africa, New African, Northern Kenya
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A conspiracy in the wild
For over 10 years, the Northern Rangelands Trust, a Kenya-based conservation initiative, has been acquiring land in the arid north of the country. Today, it controls almost 10% of Kenya’s land mass. Environmental journalist John Mbaria investigates.
In its dying days, the Obama Administration pumped massive amounts of money into supporting a powerful NGO accused of using below-the-radar tactics to control a huge amount of Kenyan land, thereby using conservation as a subtle tool for dispossessing tens of thousands of pastoralists, who have unwittingly participated in their own dispossession.
Much of the land, whose control is enforced by local well-armed militias, has recently been granted UN-protected status. And with financial backing from powerful Western donors, the Northern Rangelands Trust’s (NRT) activities are largely insulated from public scrutiny.
Unless the new Trump administration discontinues the US government’s support to wildlife conservation in Africa, the NRT is set to continue having a say over vast, mineral-rich lands in the north and coastal areas of Kenya.
Most of these lands have been identified, in official documents, as areas of immense potential capable of becoming the very basis of the country’s future economic progress. These areas are also crucial to the maintenance of the extensive livestock husbandry practised by millions of pastoralists in northern Kenya.
Today, the NRT effectively controls 44,000 km2 (or 10.8m acres) of land – that’s roughly eight per cent of Kenya’s 581,309 km2 landmass. Interestingly, the organisation appears to have acquired a decisive say over these lands by co-opting the local leadership. Consequently, NRT’s control of the lands in Kenya’s Upper Rift, North and Coastal areas is facilitated by local political and community leaders, some of whom are co-opted as members of the organisation’s Board.
This has been done through community wildlife conservation, a model in which landowners assert the right to manage and profit from wildlife on their lands.
Conservancies have proliferated across pastoralist, wildlife-rich areas in northern and southern Kenya. They are also an extremely attractive funding prospect for Western donors in the conservation sector.
All the cash is handed over, not directly to the landowners, who have constituted themselves into 33 community conservancies, but to the NRT, which acts like a middleman and which has taken up not just conservation, but other roles (including security arrangements) that are ordinarily performed by national governments.
Among the biggest financial supporters of NRT, the former Obama administration consistently extended tens of millions of dollars to the organisation through the United States Agency for International Development (USAid). As if to underscore how important the NRT’s work was to the Obama Administration, the organisation’s Chief Programs Officer, Tom Lalampaa, and its founder, Ian Craig, were among the people given the privilege of making short presentations about their work when the former US president visited Kenya last July.
America’s latest support to the organisation was announced in a press statement released by the US Embassy in Nairobi in late November 2016. In the communiqué, the US Ambassador to Kenya, Robert F. Godec, said
the US’s new 5-year, $20m support was meant “to help expand” the NRT’s operations in Coastal
Kenya.
He hailed NRT’s partnership with the communities, terming it “a shared vision of protecting ecosystems and promoting peace for a better future”. He added that the cash would be used to support the work of community rangers, to conserve wildlife and fisheries, improve livelihoods, and advance women’s enterprises.
For its part, NRT, through Craig (who signed off as the organisation’s Director of Conservation), said the cash would be used to fund the opening up of new conservancies and create a conservation trust fund.
The former Obama administration consistently extended tens of millions of dollars to the NRT through USAid.
Though the US government believes that the NRT shares “the visions of protecting ecosystems” with the communities in Upper Rift, the North and on the Coast, recent developments in Kenya have proved otherwise. Indeed, the US support comes at a time when some well-armed herders, from some of the same communities the NRT has helped to form community conservancies, have invaded sprawling private ranches in Laikipia and elsewhere, leading to human fatalities, the killing of wild animals and forcing the deployment of specialised security units from the Kenya police.
The work of NRT and the West’s support to conservation in some of Kenya’s arid-and-semi-arid lands has altered the human/ wildlife dynamics in some areas. This has also invited curious concern from conservation experts, who believe that the US and other countries in the West have been supporting a controversial organisation that has been usurping the role of Kenya’s human and wildlife security organs, as well as destroying the age-old ability of tens of thousands of herders to live off their land.
As New African found out in extensive visits and interviews with different people in the affected areas, the NRT-inspired community-conservation model is simple and can be quite attractive for anyone ignorant of its implications, especially for the lives and livelihoods of local people.
After co-opting the local leadership, the NRT appears to have crafted MOUs with the communities owning the vast tracts of land. In most cases, the communities’ land-ownership claims are based on the most rudimentary rights – an ancestral claim to the land.
Community members are also reputed to retain significant respect for, and allow themselves to be guided by, local leadership which, in most cases, uses its standing in communities to advance, and persuade “lesser” members of communities to conform with the wishes of the NRT.
This is not so difficult as the organisation has come up with quite an attractive package for the communities, including securing for them investors interested in developing lodges and other tourism facilities, once they agree to set aside some of their lands for exclusive use by wildlife and the investors.
NRT also promises bursaries for school children, employment for community members, a ready market for the livestock and the setting up of a grazing plan to prevent livestock deaths through drought in the drylands of Kenya.
“NRT’s approach is quite attractive to communities who have been neglected by successive governments in Kenya since the country attained independence from the British,” says Daniel Letoiye, a Samburu County resident who previously worked as a programme officer with NRT.
However, hidden in the fine print are consequences that are considered grave for the pastoralist groups in Northern Kenya. “Even when droughts occur, many of the pastoralist groups [who have signed up to the agreements] cannot access part of their lands that are now set aside for wildlife conservation and which constitute community conservancies,” says Michael Lalampaa, an official with the Higher Education Loans Board who hails from Samburu County.
Samburu comunity elders discuss their perspectives with the author in Samburu County
Lalampaa complains that the NRT compels communities to set aside the best portions of their lands for the exclusive use of wildlife and the tourist investors. Lalampaa says that the organisation usually identifies leaders and elites within relevant communities who aid in persuading the pastoralists to set aside big parcels of land for conservation purposes. “Once the agreements are put in place, it becomes impossible for the herders to access some areas with pastures in the conservancies … they are confronted by armed scouts who evict them.” He adds that it is “sad that at times, livestock ends up dying simply because the owners cannot graze the animals in what used to be their own lands.”
This has proven problematic especially since vast sections of the relevant rangelands have been depleted year-in, year-out by overgrazing and are inhabited by people who have become increasingly vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of livestock end up competing over the remaining patches of grasslands and dwindling water sources such as the Ewaso Nyiro River.
This happens, as copious reports show, in an area largely ignored by the Kenya government, inhabited by morans, have taken up cattle- rustling as a traditional pastime.
Claims have also been made that NRT’s activities have far-reaching implications on the entire country and therefore need to be handled with more than casual attention by Kenya’s allies across the world, the government as well as the people of Kenya.
“The sheer geographical, financial, cultural, and political scale of this intervention calls for a lot more thought than has been given to it thus far,” said Dr Mordecai Ogada, a conservation consultant based in Laikipia County.
Dr Ogada believes that the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has “abdicated” from its responsibility to inspire the formation and sound management of conservation activities outside Kenya’s protected areas. But top officials at KWS – which has lately been experiencing financial difficulties – deny this, saying that they see no problem with the operations of the NRT.
However, KWS appears critical of recent moves by foreign governments to fund the NRT. “Conservation NGOs like NRT have recently benefited from funding from development partners, following the paradigm shift where development partners and other governments prefer to fund communities through NGOs rather than governments directly,” said Paul Gathitu, KWS spokesperson and head of corporate communications.
Attempts by New African to elicit comments from NRT met with no success. Nevertheless, on its website, the organisation – which calls itself a “movement” – announces that it has been raising funds to aid the formation and running of conservancies.
NRT also says that it supports the training of relevant communities and helps to “broker agreements between conservancies and investors”. It claims that it provides donors with “a degree of oversight” by participating directly in how community conservancies and incomes accrued are managed. This was evident as New African toured eight conservancies in Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu and Laikipia, where NRT has appointed its own managers who are in charge of the day-to-day running of the conservancies.
Besides the managers, there are the members of the Board and grazing committees who are, on paper, supposed to be making decisions that suit the needs of the true owners of the land.
However, there is evidence that main decisions are made by NRT and that the organisation has maintained little or no engagement with the owners of the land and local public institutions.
Besides the US, NRT’s activities are funded by a host of other private companies and bodies in the West. Some of the principal donors to NRT include the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA); the Nature Conservancy (a US-based international NGO); and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) of France. NRT is also bankrolled by other donors who fund its long-term programmes – including Fauna & Flora International, Zoos South Australia, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ of Germany), US Fish and Wildlife Service, San Diego Zoo, International Elephant Foundation, Saint Louis Zoo, Running Wild and others. These latter donors have boosted what NRT terms a pooled conservation fund that has a lifespan of more than five years.
The Tullow Oil Company, that has been involved in oil prospecting in Turkana County, has funded NRT to the tune of $11.5m in a five-year project meant to aid the latter in establishing and operating new conservancies in Turkana and West Pokot counties.
Seventy per cent of the money was meant to go directly to community conservancies’ bank accounts for meeting operational costs (i.e. staff salaries, the purchase and running of vehicles, the acquisition of computers and other equipment), while 30% was to enable the formation and management of the conservancies.
The NRT has maintained little or no engagement with the owners of the land and local public institutions
But this did not go down well with the Turkana County government, which declared the relevant conservancies illegal, with the County Executive for Energy, Environment & Natural Resources ordering NRT to stop its operations there.
Later, the County Governor, Josphat Nanok, termed NRT’s move to establish conservancies in Turkana as “ill-advised with a hidden agenda”.
Dr Ogada believes that the millions of dollars in grants given by the US and other countries in the West have made NRT a “launch pad” for what he terms “a new conservation paradigm” in East Africa.
“NRT has championed this model of conservation very actively for the last decade [resulting] in a situation where challenges or mistakes aren’t spoken about by donors or implementers because of the sheer scale of professional and financial investment in an institution [which like all others] does have inherent weaknesses,” he added.
The NRT’s security function is considered one of the most controversial aspects of the community conservancy movement in Kenya. Usually, maintenance of security within countries is a preserve of governments. But on its website, the organisation says that it inspires community conservancies to “tackle insecurity holistically”.
This includes conducting anti-poaching operations, wildlife monitoring and providing what it terms “invaluable [support] to the Kenya Police in helping to tackle cattle rustling and road banditry”.
The organisation says that by 2014, it had facilitated the training of 645 rangers who operate in the conservancies while Dickson ole Kaelo, the chief executive of the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, reported that over 2,300 community rangers have been trained so far.
Normally, the organisation selects community members and takes them for training by the KWS’s personnel at the wildlife agency’s Manyani Training School, close to Kenya’s biggest national park, Tsavo.
Here, the rangers are taught “bush craft skills, as well as how to effectively gather and share intelligence, monitor wildlife and manage combat situations”. The involvement of KWS in the training of the community rangers was confirmed, but downplayed, by Michael Kipkeu, KWS’s Senior Assistant Director in charge of the Community Wildlife Service. “The KWS law enforcement academy provides tailor-made community scouts’ training.”
After being trained by KWS, the rangers are given more advanced training than what is posted on the NRT’s website. For instance, according to the Save the Rhino NGO, the rangers are given Kenya Police Reserve accreditation and “sufficient weapons handling training”.
Such advanced training involves tactical movement with weapons, ambush and anti-ambush drills, handling and effective usage of night-vision and thermal-imaging equipment, and ground-to-air communications and coordination.
There are also suspicions that the bigger scheme is to ensure that Kenya unwittingly “forfeits” some of the lands under the NRT by getting them declared by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
The scheme to have UNESCO declare some of the biggest private game ranches and wildlife conservancies in Laikipia, Samburu, and islands in the Coast as World Heritage Sites is now being pursued in earnest.
“Legally, the move may not amount to much but knowing how lobbying is done, if the government were to [seek to] change ownership, listings would be put up to demonstrate how special these ranches are and why they should remain with the present landowners,” said Njenga Kahiro, a former Programme Officer with Laikipia Wildlife Forum. The aim, Kahiro avers, is “to create a super-big protected area … all of it [covered by] the World Heritage Convention.” NA
Oromia: Kenyan Government is Held Accountable for Supporting Ethiopia TPLF Dictatorship and Hunting Freedom Fighters September 21, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, Genocide Against Oromo People, Kenya, OLF, Oromia, Oromo, Tyrannic Ethiopia, Widespread brutalities of Ethiopia’s Regime (Fascist TPLF) against the Oromo people in different parts of the State of Oromia
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Kenyan Government is Held Accountable for Supporting Ethiopia TPLF Dictatorship and Hunting Freedom Fighters
By enlisting the assistance of the Kenyan government, the TPLF regime and the Kenyan government have finalized plans to launch a campaign of attacks against the OLA operating in the south. It has been known that Kenya is planning to participate in this anti-OLA campaign by mobilizing its Special Forces unit GSU (General Service Unit), and its infantry (Kenyan Defense Force) and specially KA1 to take action in Moyale area across the border. There is no doubt that Kenyans citizens opposing the action of Ethiopia totalitarian regime and Oromo refugees are going to be the groups that are going to be the most hurt by Kenya’s blind support for TPLF. This military action by the two forces is not new.
Despite the search and joint operation conducted by Kenyan army and Ethiopia regime military repeatedly before, it has been impossible to stop OLF activities in the south. And it is meaningless if it is thought to reverse the ongoing Oromia wide struggle to uproot the TPLF brutal regime once for all.
Like many failed joint past campaigns, there is no doubt that this campaign is also going to fail again. We believe that it’s clear to everyone at this juncture that as long as the Oromo questions ofbilisummaa (freedom) are not answered, the Oromo liberation struggle will not be contained.
The OLF strongly condemns military, security and other forms of assistance the Kenyan government provides to Ethiopia’s tyrannical regime. Because these acts target freedom fighters struggling for the just cause of their people and because it will contribute to depriving the Oromo of freedom and to perpetuating dictatorship and slavery for the majority, the OLF again strongly asks the Kenyan government to stop providing assistance to the Ethiopian regime. Kenya should not be fighting a proxy war in which it has no stakes just to prolong the life of a dictatorial regime of Ethiopia.
Kenya’s government’s participation in wars planned by Ethiopia has no use except expanding the conflict into a regional conflict. It is possible to learn from the long history of the Oromo people that the Oromo have practiced peaceful relations, respect, love and mutual co-existence with neighboring peoples. Violating this long history/code of brotherhood/ good neighborliness, the role of the Kenyan government should not be one of being a proxy war monger on behalf of the TPLF regime that is staggering to collapse because of concerted and unstoppable popular movements at home. The OLF would like to remind Kenya that it will be responsible for perpetuating dictatorship and injustice and slavery against the Oromo people in Oromia and Ethiopia if it proceeds with this an unwelcome alliance and proxy effort with the fragile military regime of Ethiopia. Kenya will be responsible for all the damages this unholy alliance will inflict on the Oromo people and the Oromo national liberation struggle. Kenya should not interfere in the domestic political affairs of Ethiopia by picking Ethiopia’s regime’s side against the will of the Kenyan people who would want a respected and sovereign Kenya.
We call on the Kenyan people to confront and protest repeated unjust and illegal actions by their government, which will negatively impact the relationships between the peoples of Kenya and the Oromo people and others fighting for freedom from military dictatorship in Ethiopia. Kenyan people have the obligation to hold the Kenyan government accountable; they have the responsibility to object to continued Kenyan interference in the domestic affairs of its neighboring country. This actions will harm Kenyan people, Kenyan history and the relationship of Kenyans with their neighbors.
Beyond silently watching the Ethiopian government shed the bloods of the peoples of the Horn of Africa who struggle for their freedom every day, if the Horn of African countries silently watch the military support Kenya gives to Ethiopia regime, history will judge these governments. We appeal to regional governments to stop the Kenyan government for acting as a proxy warrior for Ethiopia in a conflict that does not concern Kenya and its peoples altogether.
Victory to the Oromo People!
Oromo Liberation Front
September 20, 2016
Egypt defends treatment of Oromo refugees April 6, 2016
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #OromoProtests, 'BECAUSE I AM OROMO’: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA, Africa, Almonitor, Egypt, Egypt defends treatment of Ethiopian refugees, Ethiopia, Kenya, Oromia, Oromo, Oromo Refugees in Egypt
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Egypt defends treatment of Ethiopian refugees
CAIRO (Almonitor, April 5, 2016) — On March 13, nearly 1,000 people of the Oromo ethnic community took part in a big ceremony celebrating the second anniversary of the Oromia Media Network (OMN), which opposes the ruling regime in Ethiopia.
The ceremony was the first event held by the Ethiopian opposition in Cairo since theoutbreak of violence in Ethiopia between the government and the ethnic community in December. The violence arose over Ethiopia’s “master plan” to expand the capital, Addis Ababa, into large parts of Oromo farmlands without any actual compensation.
At that time, Egypt’s Foreign Affairs Ministry contented itself with issuing a press statement on Dec. 21, saying that the incidents “are an internal Ethiopian issue.”
“We are looking forward to stability and the completion of the comprehensive economic and social development programs in Ethiopia,” the ministry said.
Yet local Ethiopian media outlets continued to circulate statements by Ethiopian officials accusing Cairo of supporting the opposition and of being behind these events in order to weaken Ethiopia. These statements were based on the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s remarks in November 2010 that there was irrefutable evidence of Egypt’s support for insurgents in Ethiopia, under the rule of former President Hosni Mubarak.
At the second anniversary ceremony, OMN head Jawar Mohammed spoke of the need for the Oromo uprising to continue against the policies of the Ethiopian government and the ruling Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) party. He accused the government of adopting systematic policies against the Oromo community and of seizing its land.
A government official who coordinates African affairs and spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said, “The Egyptian authorities have nothing to do with the ceremony.”
He explained, “A group of Ethiopian activists applied for a security approval for the ceremony, which they obtained, similarly to any other foreign communities wishing to hold activities in Cairo.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) fact sheet issued in February said 6,916 Ethiopian asylum seekers are registered with the UNHCR in Cairo.
“Most of the Ethiopians who are registered with the UNHCR are of the Oromo people, whose registration rate has been constant since 2015,” Marwa Hashem, assistant public information officer for the UNHCR in Cairo, told Al-Monitor.
“The UNHCR have provided all political asylum seekers and refugees from Africa with services such as material aid to the most needy, educational grants, health care and psychosocial support.”
Ahmad Badawi, head of the Egyptian Foundation for Refugee Support, told Al-Monitor, “Egypt is committed to its international obligations not to reject asylum seekers when they do not oppose national security, even those who enter illegally.”
The Egyptian government does not provide any special advantages to Ethiopian refugees without providing the same to other foreign nationals, he said. UNHCR is in charge of providing services to all refugees.
The Oromo ethnic community makes up 40% of Ethiopia’s population, followed by the Amhara and Tigrayan communities, which make up 32% — though Tigrayans control the government through the ruling TPLF party. The Oromia Regional State stretches over large areas in central Ethiopia, where the capital is located, and includes most of Ethiopia’s wealth, as it controls the country’s coffee exports, gold mines and the rivers’ headwaters.
Due to the escalating protests, the Ethiopian government canceled the plan to expand the capital. Yet the Oromo revolution has not ended, as the people continue to demand freedom and fair representation in the government and to protest the ruling party’s practices.
“The Oromo community will continue to protest not only against the Ethiopian government’s master plan, which raised problems in the past, but also to preserve the Oromo ethnic community’s land, culture and language, against the ethnic policies of the Tigrayan who control the rule,” Girma Gutema, an Oromo community activist, told Al-Monitor.
“Eritrea and Sudan supported the Oromo struggle. Yet following the Sudanese-Ethiopian rapprochement, many rebels fled to Eritrea,” Gutema said. However, the Egyptians, as well as the international community, don’t know enough about the Oromo community’s problems to be able to offer support.
Such rumors, he said, are propaganda spread by the Ethiopian government due to its historic bickering with Egypt.
Galma Guluma, an Ethiopian political activist and organizer of the ceremony in Cairo, told Al-Monitor that Cairo is the safest place for Oromo people fleeing Ethiopia, particularly sinceSudan changed its policy and is now turning over Ethiopian oppositionists to their government.
“Fleeing to Cairo was not an easy thing to do. Many refugees went through difficult situations and conditions until they reached the Egyptian border,” Guluma said. “Most of the Oromo refugees in Cairo do not have permanent jobs, and some girls are working as domestic servants. Moreover, they receive very little aid from the civil society organizations.”
Guluma added, “We do not have weapons to face the regime in Ethiopia. Our goal is to focus on [getting] the media to speak of the suffering of the Oromo people,” who are oppressed despite the great wealth in their state.
He noted, “Cairo has been a historical place for the Oromo struggle and the idea of the media network and Oromo radio started in Cairo more than 50 years ago with SheikhMohammed Rashad, who studied at the Al-Azhar University in the 1960s and was honored by [former Egyptian President] Gamal Abdel Nasser.”
The Egyptian political administration has said that, while it seeks to build trust and goodwill, its open-door policy for Oromo refugees is part of an international commitment to the refugees’ case and should not be perceived as an attempt to exploit any internal conflicts to weaken the Ethiopian state.
Nevertheless, this issue remains a focus of constant tension in Egyptian-Ethiopian ties, in addition to the historic conflict over Nile water management.
International Oromo Women’s Organization’s Appeal on the Urgent Case of Mr. Dabasa Guyo’s Disappearance and Other Refugees in Kenya November 23, 2015
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: 'BECAUSE I AM OROMO’: SWEEPING REPRESSION IN THE OROMIA, Abba Liban Dabassaa Guyyoo Saffaro, Abbaa Liban Dabbasaa Guyyoo, Africa, Appeal Regarding the Disappearance of Mr. Dabassa Guyo, International Oromo Women's Organization's Appeal on the Urgent Case of Mr. Dabasa Guyo’s Disappearance and Other Refugees in Kenya, Kenya, Oromo Community Organization (OCO)
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November 6, 2015
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: tb-petitions@unhcr.org
Mr. Antonio Guterres United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR)
Case Postale 2500 CH-1211 Geneve 2 Depot Suisse
Email: infoDesk@ohchr.org; GUTERR@unhcr.org
The UNHCR Representation in Kenya
PO Box 43801-00100 GPO
Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 41 22 739 7280
The President of the Republic of Kenya
President Uhuru Kenyatta
Harambee Avenue
P.O. Box 74434 – 00200
Nairobi, Kenya.
The International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Ethiopia
Bole Sub city-, Kebele 12/13, House no. New
P. O. Box 5701
ADDIS ABABA
Phone: (+251 11) 647 83 00
Fax: (+251 11) 647 83 01
Head of delegation: Mr REYNOLDS James
The ICRC regional delegation in Kenya
Denis Pritt Road
P.O. Box 73226 – 00200
NAIROBI
(covers Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania)
Phone: (+25420) 2723 963 – 4 – 5
Fax: (+25420) 2713003
Head of regional delegation: Mr MEYRAT Thierry
Media contact persons: Ms KILIMO Anne
Phone : (+254 20 2723963
Mobile (+254) 0722 202039
Mr STRAZIUSO Jason
Mobile: (+254) 733 622 026
Subject: Appeal on the urgent case of Mr. Dabasa Guyo’s disappearance and other Refugees in Kenya
Dear All,
I am writing this appeal letter on behalf of the International Oromo Women’s Organization (IOWO), a Non-Profit, Non-governmental Organization established to promote gender equality and be the voice for the voiceless.
The oppressed people in Ethiopia that include the majority of Oromo people fled their home to escape government persecutions, killings, arbitrary arrest, and abductions in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian government spearheaded by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), came to power in the early 1990’s. Since that time until present, mass killings, arbitrary arrests, abductions, and evicting people from their home become the day-to-day activities of the government forces. Hundreds and thousands of Oromo and other nationals run away to escape from such government actions.
However, the government security forces hunt refugees in neighboring countries, assassinate or abduct and take back to Ethiopia for further torture and killing.
I. Few examples of mass killings by Government forces in Ethiopia since TPLF came to power:
• The mass killing of University Students in Ambo and other cities April/ May 2014 on the peaceful demonstration against the expansion of Addis Ababa city to other neighboring Oromia cities, which is still continuing. (BBC News May 2, 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27251331).
• The massacre of Muslim peaceful protestors April and August 2013 in Asasa and Kofele, Oromia, killed at least 26. ( Extracted from the report of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation report 19th Session of the UPR Working Group Submitted 16 September 2013)
This is in violation of religious freedom provided in the country’s constitution of 1995 Article 11/3 which states “The state shall not interfere in religious matters and religion shall not interfere in state affairs”.
• The massacre of members of the Suri tribe took place in December 2012, at least 147 Suris killed. (extracted from HRLHA Statement Feb.2013).
• The Massacre of Oromos Gara Sufi in February 2007. The victims age range from 14 years old Ayisha Ali to seventy years old Ahmed Mohamed Kuree. (VOA Afaan Oromo program on Wednesday Feb. 21, 2007).
• The Massacre after 2005 National election, Addis Ababa in which 193 unarmed demonstrators killed (www.abbaymedia.com), BBC News (http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6064638.stm)
• The massacre of Anuak on 13 December 2003. (http://www.abbaymedia.com/pdf/Press_Release/Remembering_the_Anuak_Massacre_of_December_13_2003.pdf),
Human Rights Watch, (https://www.hrw.org/news/2005/03/23/ethiopia-crimes-against-humanity-gambella-region).
• The Locke, Sidama, Massacre 24 May 2002 killing 46 and wounded 44. (OSG No. 38).
• The Massacare of Sheko and Majenger people on 11 March 2002, at least 128 dead. (By Nita Bhalla BBC, Addis Ababa, Tuesday, 16 July, 2002, 11:39 GMT 12:39 UK).
• The Massacre of Addis Ababa University Students of April 18, 2001, in violations of Academic freedom 51 dead and 250 wounded. (BBC news, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1284608.stm) and (Abbay media, http://abbaymedia.com/remembering-april-2001%E2%80%B2s-massacre-of-ethiopian-students/)
• The Massacare of Babo Gambel village West Wollega on 28 April 1995, 27 people were summarily executed by the EPRDF army in the Babo Gambel village in Jarso District at a places called Shimala Ture and Qiltu near Ganda Sheik in western wollega. (Report from Sue Pollock 13 April
1996 Schottlands National Newspaper PP.10-13).
And others.
II. Some examples of individuals abducted by Ethiopian Security forces and disappeared or not known their whereabouts.
- Amanti (Shafee) Abdisaa abducted by Ethiopian Airport security men on August 20, 2000 at Addis Ababa Airport after he boarded the plane for conference in Nairobi representing the Ethiopian Environmental Organization he was working for. (OSG Press Release No.38).
- Engineer Banti Guddataa Hirpha: Abducted by armed men January 5, 1998 in Addis Ababa around Behere Tsige in his firiend’s house. (OSG press release n. 23).
- Efrem (Xibabu) Kaba: abducted from Addis Ababa November 17, 2000. (OSG press release n. 39).
- Lammessa Boru: Arrested on September 17, 1992 near Dembi Dollo by EPRDF soldiers in Toyota land cruiser, later seen in military hospital in Jimma, but disappeared from there since October 23, 1992. (AI Index: AFR 25/06/95)
- Yosef Ayele Bati: Arrested by unidentified security officer, on November 27, 1992 in Addis Ababa. (Amnesty International: http://bit.ly/yosefbati).
- Zerihun Kinati Dheressa: Abducted by armed plain clothe men and uniformed police in Addis Ababa on October 17, 1997. (OSG press release 20).
According to different sources:
- Nadhi Gamada: Detained in 1994 by the Ethiopian security force. Since then his whereabouts is unknown.
- Jirenya Ayana and Temesgen Adaba: Abducted by government security men when walking near “Urael Church” in Addis Ababa in August 1995 and disappeared.
- Bekele Dawano Hebano: Disappeared while in detention in 1993.
- Dachasa (Masfin) Bayana Iticha: Abducted in Addis Ababa around “Mesalemiya” near the City Hotel by government security men in September 1995.
- Dagaagaa Bayisaa: Abducted in 1993 while traveling by bus between Siree and Nekempt, and last seen in an underground cell at Bakko.
- Daniel (Ida’aa) Akkummaa: Arrested in Addis Ababa in 1992. Since then his whereabouts is unknown.
- Dereje Qana’aa: Disappeared in February 19, 1992 from the place he was teaching in Bodji in Wallaga.
- Mustafa Idris: Disappeared on his way to home from work in Addis Ababa on May 31, 1994.
- Takele Oljirraa: Abducted by government intelligence men in November 1992, near “Teklehaymanot” area (Addis Ababa), another person detained in 1994 believes he saw Takale in the Kasainchis secret detetion center in Addis Ababa (OSG August 1995 press release report, p. 13).
- Takalinyi Dago: Abducted from Addis Ababa by the Ethiopian Secret Service, on January 14, 1996.
Due to such brutal actions of government forces, some escaped and ended up their lives in Ocean/sea, some suffered in Yemen and other countries, and some seeking asylum in Kenya and waiting for the resettlement option in third countries.
We thank the Kenya government and people for their hospitality. However, the Ethiopian government forces extended their brutal actions in killing or abducting and taking back, torture and put in prison or kill them.
III. Some examples of such Ethiopian government actions mentioned in “AN OPEN PETITION” of the Oromo Refugee community in Kenya to the UNHCR, September 2013, the followings are the victims of killings and abductions by Ethiopian security forces and mercenaries in neighboring countries:
A. OROMO REFUGEES WHO WERE ASSASSINATED BY ETHIOPIAN SECURITY IN KENYA
1. 
<img class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-5585” src=”http://i2.wp.com/www.ayyaantuu.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Jatani-Ali.jpg?resize=100%2C100″ alt=”Jatani Ali” data-recalc-dims=”1″ />Jatani Ali, Borana, Oromo leader, former Provincial Governor of Borana Province in Southern Oromia, shot dead by the operatives of Tigray People’s Liberation Front Ethiopian People’s Democratic Front (TPLF/EPRDF) in Nairobi on 2nd July, 1992.
2. In 2003, asylum seeker Mr. Halakhe Diidoo was killed by Ethiopian security in the town of Moyale – Kenya as he crossed to seek asylum.
3. In 2004, Mr. Areeroo Galgalo was gunned down in Moyale – Kenya just some 50 metres away from Moyale Police Station as he was heading to seek asylum at the police station.
4. On 4th September 2007, Mr. Gaaromse Abdisaa was shot dead in Moyale town – Kenya while in bid to save his life and seek asylum.
5. 6th November 2007, a group of ten (10) Oromo refugees were attacked in their living apartment in Eastleign Nairobi. At least two were killed on the sport and some injured.
6. On 20th March 2010, Mr. Asefa Alemu Tana, a refugee with UNHCR File No.: Neth 029833/1 was found dead at his home near a bathroom, with deep head injuries. He lived in Huruma with his family members.
7. 
<img class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-5586” src=”http://i2.wp.com/www.ayyaantuu.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Mr.-Dalacha–Golicha.jpg?resize=100%2C100″ alt=”Mr. Dalacha Golicha” data-recalc-dims=”1″ />On 1st February 2013, Mr. Dalacha Golicha a registered asylum seeker with UNHCR appointment letter was shot dead at his home in Huruma Nairobi.
8. 
<img class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-5587” src=”http://i1.wp.com/www.ayyaantuu.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Mr.-Mohamed-Kedir.jpg?resize=100%2C100″ alt=”Mr. Mohamed Kedir” data-recalc-dims=”1″ />On 4th April 2013, Mr. Mohamed Kedir Helgol was shot dead and left in his private car along Eastleign Street. It’s our great belief with no doubt that the killers of Oromo refugee are the Ethiopian secret security agents in Kenya.
9. In 1994 a twenty four year old Boru was found hanged on a tree at the backyard of the camp. Most Oromos believe that the EPRDF agents killed him.
10. In 1994 an unknown gunman, who is believed to be an EPRDF agent, shot and killed many Oromo refugees inside the refugee camp.
11. In the same year (1994), an Oromo religious man, Sheik Abdusalam Mohammed Madare, was shot and wounded seriously. As a result, many Oromos living in the camp had protested against the discriminative killings of the Oromo refugee.
12. In 1995 three Oromo houses were burnt down in Kakuma camp, where a 5 year old baby girl, Hajo Ibrahim, was killed.
13. N 1996 a frustrated Oromo refugee, who fled from the camp and was found dead in the surrounding area, after half of his body was eaten by scavengers.
14. In 1998 a group of masked gunmen, showered bullets in the Oromo section of the camp for several hours.
15. In 1998 Mr. Rashid Abubaker was found dead in Eastleign by gunmen believed to be EPRDF agents.
16. In 1999 Mr. Sulxan Adem, Awal and Mohammed Seraj were kidnapped by unknown secret agents, and disappeared.
17. On 3rd June, 2000 a young nationalist Abudulwasi Abdulaziz was killed by EPRDF government secret killing square at Juja Road at Pangani. He was a member of Oromo Traditional Band.
18. In the same year (2000) Mr. Alamu a well known and respected Oromo in Dadab, was killed by unidentified people, but it is believed that those killers were assisted by Ethiopian authorities.
19. In the same year (2000), a UNHCR field officer named Shida had found one of the Ethiopian community members who bought a gun to kill the Oromo. She was said to have brought the person to Nairobi so that he would be charged in Kenya for his killing attempt.
20. In the same year (2000), one Oromo refugee was shot and lost one of his limbs.
21. In the same year (2000), in Dadab Mr. Solomon was shot dead.
22. In 2001 Ifrah Hassen was kidnapped in Kakuma by unknown group of people and her whereabouts unknown to this date.
23. In 2001 Mr. Jamal Mussa, Mr. Mohammed Adem and Mr. Mohammed Jamal and Tofik Water all disappeared and their whereabouts are still unknown.
24. In 2001 again the one Oromo refugee was killed by planned car accident, the car was driven by an Ethiopian who is believed to be an Ethiopian government agent.
25. At the beginning of 2002 Awel Mohammed Hussen was kidnapped from Dadab, and then found while he was taken to Dolo Military Camp in Ethiopia where he was killed by EPRDF soldiers two days later.
26. In the same year four Oromo refugees escaped in Kakuma fleeing to Nairobi from planned assassination by EPRDF squad.
27. On 2nd November 2002 Mr. Indalkachaw Teshome Asefa was murdered by Ethiopian security forces in Moyale town.
28. On the same day the body of Oromo women, believed to be murdered by security force was found in the town.
29. In December, 2009 an organized attempt by the Ethiopian government to deport some innocent Oromo refugee community members Mr. Mamed Said a well known elder of the community Mr. Alemu Ware and Yesuf Mohamed was reversed by the help of concerned bodies and the cry of Oromo community members.
B. DEPORTATION OF OROMO REFUGEES WHO LIVES WITH UNHCR MANDATE IN KENYA
1. Mr. Legesse Angessa and Teklu Baleha Dhinsa were abducted from Dhadhab Refugee Camp and deported back to Ethiopia.
2. In 2005, Mr. Liiban Jarso, Olqabaa Lataa and Amansiisa Guutaa (former student from Addis Ababa University) were abducted from Eastleign, Nairobi and unlawfully deported back to Ethiopia. In connection to this and many other disappearances of Oromo refugees, hundreds of Oromo refugees marched into mass demonstration and gathered outside UNHCR office in Nairobi on 27th December 2005 to complain the rise of insecurity and abduction cases instigated by the Ethiopian government and claimed that some had been killed.
The Kenya government authority intervened and the security detectives arrested three Ethiopian men believed to be secret security agents deployed to cause atrocities to Oromo refugees in Kenya. The three; Mr. Tesfaye Alemayo and Lulu were charged and tried before the law court which ruled and ordered their deportation to Ethiopia.
3. 
<img class=”alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-5588” src=”http://i0.wp.com/www.ayyaantuu.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Tesfahu-Chemeda-3.jpg?resize=100%2C100″ alt=”Tesfahu Chemeda 3″ data-recalc-dims=”1″ />On 27th April 2007 the Kenya terrorist police arrested Engineer Tesfahun Chemeda and Mesfin Abebe from a Nairobi hotel. They lived as recognized refugees since 2005 under the concern of UNHCR mandate. They were charged as suspected terrorist and arraigned before a law court in Nairobi.
Efforts by members of Oromo community, Kenya Human Rights Commission and the UNHCR to prevent their refoulement went to no avail, when on 7th May 2007 during a court hearing of Hebeus Capeaus, Kenyan officials told a local judge, and the two were already deported back to Ethiopia to face terrorism charges.” (Oromo Refugee Committee in Kenya, 2013).
Engineer Tesfahun Chemeda has been killed in Ethiopian prison and Mesfin Abebe is still in prison.
IV. Another example of mass killings in neighboring countries: According to OSA appeal letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Massacre of Oromo Refugees in Bassaso, Puntland (Somalia) on Tuesday December 01, 2009 in which at least 67 lost their lives and hundreds wounded and another time in Bassaso at different place on 02/05/09 mass massacre of 65 were brutally murdered and more than 100 others were injured.
Ethiopian government security force hunting Oromo Refugees anywhere in neighboring countries nonstop.
V. According to the recent HRLHA’s Urgent Action and Appeal of October 25, 2015, 131 Oromo refugees in Kenya targeted to be abducted or assassinated by the TPLF regime. The action started with the first named in the TPLF list, Mr. Dabasa Guyo Safarro, 80 years old, an Oromo cultural legend, resident of Mololongo, Kenya for more than thirty-five (35) years disappeared on September 27, 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya.
We are highly concerned for Mr. Dabasa Guyyo’s safety and security as well as the security of other 130 Oromo refugees named in the list.
We request President Uhuru Kenyatta and the government of Kenya to protect Oromo refugees in Kenya and stop the Ethiopian government boundary violations and harassing Oromo refugees.
We ask the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to urge the Ethiopian government stop human rights violations and abuse.
We request the ICRC to take urgent action in search of the where about of Mr. Dabasa Guyyo and safe his life.
We request the UNHCR to protect registered refugees and urgently work on their applications to secure asylum request to third countries.
We request the third countries governments and societies to support refugees who are in urgent need of security for their lives in providing asylum and urgent process for their resettlement.
Peace and justice for all,
Yours Sincerely,
Dinknesh Deressa Kitila
International Oromo women’s Organization
Board Director
Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere!!!
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