Reuters investigation reveals ‘secretive security committee’ in Oromia, sheds light on Karrayyu Gadaa leadership massacre

Justice for Karrayyu Gadaa  Oromo leaders

 After conducting a months-long investigation, Reuters says it has uncovered troubling actions perpetrated by a concealed security apparatus with the objective of suppressing dissent within Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region, Oromia.

The specific allegations encompass dozens of extrajudicial killings purportedly ordered by the committee, along with hundreds of warrantless detentions of individuals deemed “security threats.”

Among the highlighted instances of violence is the massacre of 14 elders from the Karayyuu tribe in 2021, which the government attributed to OLA fighters. However, the investigative report indicated that “evidence indicates the Committee authorized security forces to carry out the slaughter.”

The 2021 killing of Karrayyu Gadaa leaders in the East Showa Zone of the Oromia region, including Abba Gadaa and Kadir Hawas Boru, has been a subject.

the killings of the leaders were carried out with the involvement of government forces. However, the Oromia regional government attributed the attacks to the OLA, whcih has later been incorporated by a partial report from the state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which said that there was “reasonable ground to believe” that the killing of 14 members of the Gadaa leaders constitutes “extrajudicial killing” by security forces.

Reuters’ investigation sheds the step-by-step decision leading up to the point-blank shooting of the 16 Gadaa leaders.

The investigative report by Reuters also asserted the presence of interference by the Committee in the justice system, leading to prolonged detentions without cause. Additionally, the report documented accounts of detainees being subjected to torture methods, including electrocution, suspension, and beatings.

According to the report, “Judges and lawyers attempting to resist such interference have faced violent reprisals and intimidation.”

Furthermore, it asserts that Ethiopia’s Human Rights Commission (EHRC) verified “the existence of the Committee” and indicated that it has “documented extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, and torture linked to the body.”

As quoted in the report, Daniel Bekele, the chief commissioner of EHRC, stated that “its aim was to address growing security challenges in Oromiya, but it overreached its purpose by interfering in the justice system with widespread human rights violations.”

Reuters also indicated its inability to independently verify all specific allegations but asserted that “patterns of abuse were clearly evidenced.”