The news of the murder of prominent politician Bate Urgessa that engulfed the social media since early morning on Wednesday, has been a shocking and unprecedented event that left many in utter disbelief.
According to multiple accounts, Bate was taken out of his hotel room in his hometown Meki, in the East Shoa zone of the Oromia region, around midnight on Tuesday, 09 April 2024, and his body was found dumped by the road on the outskirts of the town the next morning.
Doctors have confirmed that the politician succumbed to multiple gunshots in the head and other parts of his body. Pictures showing the body of Bate lying on the ground at the site of his murder, widely circulating on social media, depicted his hands tied behind his back and bullet wounds can be seen on his head and around his lower back.
Family members have told the media that people who took Bate from his hotel room on Tuesday night “looked like government security forces”, alleging their potential involvement in his murder.
In his short-lived political career, Bate had made a name for himself as a calm, collected and articulate politician, who earned respect not only from his supporters but also his rivals. A staunch advocate of non-violent struggle, as he was, his killing and, even more, the circumstances surrounding his murder sent shockwaves across the country, leaving many perplexed as to how his civility was paid back in such a brutal act of violence.
In a sentiment shared widely, prominent politician Jawar Mohammed posited that Bate’s “cruel cold-blooded assassination is not just a killing of a prominent political leader, it is an assault on decency, civility, and moderation in our politics.”
“Batte was one of the few political figures who remained cool-headed and committed to nonviolence at a time when many succumbed to war-mongering and extremism. Despite being subjected to repeated imprisonment and torture, he resisted the politics of revenge,” Jawar
Joining the calls and urging “a full investigation into the killing of Bate Urgessa”, the US in a short statement released through the State Department’s Bureau of African Affairs, underscored that “justice and accountability are critical for breaking the cycle of violence” in Ethiopia.
Furthermore, in a statement issued late on Wednesday, US Senator Ben Cardin, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged Ethiopian authorities to allow “a credible, neutral international body to conduct a thorough investigation” into the circumstances of Bate Urgessa’s killing.
The senator criticized the Ethiopian government’s actions against political opposition figures, media personnel, and dissenting voices, stating these measures have contributed to insecurity and instability in the country.
Bate officially joined the OLF in 2018 as a finance officer and later served as interim party public relations head following the mass imprisonment of senior OLF leaders. His role as interim PR head opened up doors for Bate to reinvigorate the party’s relations with the media and advocate for his imprisoned comrades, which didn’t go well with the authorities and resulted in his arrest in March 2021.
He spent a year in detention during which he faced harrowing torture and encountered a serious health issue that led to his release in March 2022. Most recently, on 06 March 2024, he was released from prison on 100,000 birr bail after being detained for two weeks .
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