Six of the jailed members of the Karrayyu Gadaa leadership who were initially said to have gone missing after the unlawful deaths of 14 members of the Karrayyu Gadaa Michilee leaders were released on December 31, 2021 reports said. A survivor of killings, who was later jailed alongside 22 others, for the first time gave first-hand accounts of the incident that unfolded at Karra, where a prayer ceremony, Waaq Kadhaa was being held on December 1. Weeks after the incident, members of the ruling party accused the Oromia police of having involvement in the execution Karrayyu Abba Gadaas.
“We were unsuspecting when Oromia police arrived and immediately encircled us. We’ve always had a good relationship with government officials,” said the survivor who didn’t want his name to be disclosed for fear of retribution. He recalled, “They provided no explanation as they unexpectedly showed up and began searching homes, looting properties, and confiscating weapons and traditional armaments.”
“They told us that we were going to die in a few hours. They even asked us to give them our money before we die.”
A survivor of the execution
“They told us that we were going to die in a few hours. They even asked us to give them our money before we die.”
A survivor of the execution
“They rounded up 39 of us then loaded us on the cargo bed of a pick-up truck. We trusted that they meant no harm. Soon after, they started threatening us and accusing us of killing their members. We didn’t know what they were talking about. There hadn’t been any violence in our area,” he continued, “They were intimidating us the entire drive. They told us that we were going to die in a few hours. They even asked us to give them our money before we die.”
The survivor recalled that after we arrived at a remote area, they were asked who among them was from Haro Kersa Kebele. According to him, 16 people were identified and were ordered to lay on the ground face down and shot. “Some of them started beating us while others shot those who were lying down. We were forced back on the cargo bed of the truck,” he said, adding “I was appalled to hear that wild animals scavenged from their bodies for days.”
Weeks after the incident, members of the ruling party publicly admitted government forces’ involvement in the killings. In a live Facebook video, Hangasa Ibrahim, a member of the House of People’s Representatives accused the head of Oromia police commissions, commissioner Ararsa Merdasa of being behind the killings. Another government official attributing the killing to government forces is the state minister of peace, Taye Dendea. On his personal Facebook page with over half a million followers, the state minister implied that the Karrayyu Gadaa leaders were killed by elements within the regional government. Repeated attempts to speak with both government officials were unsuccessful.
The survivor recounted that the remaining people were driven to an area called Sogido where an Oromia Special Forces training camp was located. All the 23 of them were detained in what he describes as a room big enough for two people. “We were met with another round of beatings at the camp. We were beaten until we passed out,” he said.
On Friday, December 3rd, the detainees were relocated to another detention center. “We were loaded on the back of a truck and ordered to lay down face down so that we couldn’t see where they were taking us. When we arrived somewhere around Mojo, they covered our faces as we got off the back of the truck. We were then locked in a dark room,” he said. He remembers that their detainers registered their names.
He also spoke of the death of one of the captives, Jilo Borayu Hawas who died on December 8. “Jilo succumbed to hunger in addition to the beatings. They didn’t take out his body for four nights. We shouted for help for days to no avail. They took his body out on Saturday after the elders found us. They only started giving us food after his death. Some who got too weak from starvation received medical care,” he said.
The survivor who remains apprehensive of being rearrested warned the Abba Gadaa union of what he called attempts to disfigure the truth. “Politics and Gadaa aren’t the same. We want the union and all Oromos to know our truth.”
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