Sunday, August 25, 2013

OLF Statement on the death of Engineer TesfahunChemeda who died in the notorious TPLF/EPRDF prison of Qaallittii yesterday.

Short Biography

Engineer Tesfahun was born in 1976 from his father Mr. ChemdaGamtessa and his mother Mrs.GiddineshBenya at Harbu village, Guduru district eastern Wallaga, western Oromia. He was lucky enough to get the slim chance of going to school for his likes under the occupation. He completed his school starting at Looyaa, then Fincha’aa and at Shambo in 1996. His remarkably high score enabled him to join the university in Finfinne (Addis Abeba) where he graduated with BSc in Civil Engineering in 2001. Subsequently:
1. Sept. 2004 – Jan 2005 he worked as unit manager for the maintenance of Arsi-Bale road project run by Oromia Rural Road Maintenance Authority and Ethio-Italian Company.
2. Worked at Degele-Birbirsa RR50 project in Salle-Nonno District in extreme South-west of Ilu-Abba-Bore Zone
3. Worked on four simultaneous road projects for settlements; Kone-Chawwaqaa, Baddallee-Kolosirri, Gachi-Chate and Yanfa-Ballattii
4. Worked as project manager for Chawwaqa district head office construction in Ilu-Harari
5. Oct. 2001 – July 2003 site engineer for Siree-Nunu-Arjo Rural Road ofWallaga district.
Because of the policy of persecution and surveillance imposed on him, like any educated andentrepreneurial Oromo class as per TPLF standing policy, he decided to flee to Kenya for his safety. He sought protection from the UNHCR office in Nairobi explaining his position and got accepted and recognized as a refugee. However, for unknown reasons, he and his colleague in skill and refugee life MesfinAbebeAbdisa were arrested and eventually handed over to the Ethiopian authorities by the Kenyan counterpart on April 27, 2007, due to the agreement between the two countries.
Ethiopia, being a member of Joint Anti Terrorism Task Force (JATT), formed under the auspices US that includes Uganda and Kenya as well, continues to abduct Oromo refugees from the neighbouring countries where they sought UN protection, under the pretext of anti terrorism. The two innocent victims Tesfahunand Mesfin were handed over to the Ethiopian authorities who took them hand cuffed and blind folded at 2:00 AM local time on May 12, 2007, purportedly to have them investigated for terrorism at the JATT Main Investigation Branch in Finfinne (Addis Abeba).
From Apr. 27 to May 12, 2007, before handing them over, they were interrogated at the Kenyan National Bureau of Investigation near Tirm Valley by American Agents and Kenyan Anti Terror Police Unit. The Kenyan officer Mr Francis, who led the investigation, concluded the innocence of these two victims and requested the Kenyan authority to immediately let them free. However, another Kenyan CID agent Ms.Lelian,who is suspected of having close connection with the Ethiopian agents, opposed the decision and facilitated the handing over of these two innocent victims.
Once in the hands of the Ethiopian agents they were taken to the Notorious dark Central Investigationcompound known as Ma’ikelawii, where they were interrogated under severe torture for a year and a quarter.
Engineer Tesfahun was then presented before a court of magistrates ofall Tigrian nationalsin Jul. 2008, who passed the life sentence on him on March 31, 2010. The two were subsequently moved from the maximum security prison to an unknown destination for the pretext of planning to escape. They were taken for further torture in another underground location by a squad directly commanded by the late Prime Minister MelesZenawi. It was only since last thrfee months that they were returned to Qallitti main prison. The beating was so severe that the engineer repeatedly requested and needed medical treatment which he was of course denied and eventually succumbed to the torture impact yesterday Aug. 24, 2013. He became the latest victim of the vicious systematic genocide against the Oromo.
Regarding the fate of these two engineers, the OLF strongly believes that the way Kenyan authorities have been handing over innocent Oromo refugees to the anti Oromo Ethiopian criminal regime is against the relevant international conventions. We strongly request the Kenyan government to desist from this practice of the last 22 years of handing over innocent Oromo victims who sought refuge in their country. The Kenyan government cannot avoid sharing the responsibility of such murders of innocent people who they hand over to the notorious regime that is well known for its anti Oromo campaign.
The OLF extends its heartfelt condolence to the family relatives and friends of Engineer Tefahun and calls on the Oromo people to double the struggle for freedom as the only way to be free of such persecutions.
Victory to the Oromo People!

Siidaa fi Paarkii Abbaa Shiraa Mallasaa!

Baarentuu Gadaa irra | Hagayya 25, 2013
Nama yakkamaa abbaa shiraa fi dursaa wayyaanee ture Mallas Zeenaawiitif Siidaa fi Paarkii ijaarra maqaa jedhuun uummata Oromoo mahaalaqa humnaan akka buusuuf dirqiisiisuun yakka lammataa ti!
Tibba kana karaa midiyaalee wayyaaneen holola ishii ittiin afarsitu TV fi Raadiyoodhaan ennaa waayeen waggaa tokkooffaa du’a yakkamtichaa fi abbaa shiraa Mallas Zeenaawii hololamu arginee dhageenyeerra. Jala deemtoonnii fi garaaf bultoonnis gooftolii isaanii TPLFoota gammachiisuuf hanga ijji diddiimatutti uffata gurraacha uffatanii ennaa boohan akkasuma argaa turre. Boru- hinbeeknee fi qaanii dhabooleen wayyaaneedhaan bixxilaman kanneen akka OPDO,BADN, DHDN fi kkf.. kun; kan ofii kabajaa isaanii ofirraa mulqanii gatanii miila wayyaanotaa’ratti kufanii “Bakka Mallasaa anaa fudhatu” jedhan itti hanqannaan akka ummattoonni cunqurfamoon biyyattii nama yakkamaa dhiigni ilmaan cunqurfamootaa; keessattuu kan ilmaan Oromoo irraa iyyu kanaaf boohan ennaa watwaatan argaa turreerra, warra garaa malee qaanii fixatan ta’uu isaanii ummattoonni biyyattii arganii taajjabanii ittis qaana’anii dhiisaniiru.
Jala deemtoonni fi garaaf bultoonni ergamaaf umaman kun keessattuu miseensoonni OPDO ennaa wayyaa kuula ol-gargalafatanii fi gurraacha uffatanii nama akka harreetti isaan fe’etaa tureef, diina Oromoo gara laafina tokko malee tarkaanfii ajjechaa, hidhaa fi saamicha irratti gaggeessaa tureef hirqanii ennaa boo’aniif arginee bakka isaanii qaanoofneerra. Kaan isaanii ammoo galmee wayyaaneerratti amanamaa ta’anii galmaahuuf jecha ennaa suraa Mallas meetira 10, kudhaniin hojechifatanii rarraafatanii wayyaanoota lubbuun jiran fundura yaa’anii boo’anii bochisuuf yaalanis akkasuma arginee hangam akka sadarkaa namummaatii gaditti of buusanii jireenya salphinaa jiraatan waggaa har’aa gaafa yakkamtichii fi abbaan shiraa Mallas Zeenaawii du’uu fi har’as ennaa waggaan tokkooffaan du’a isaa kabajamu argineerra. Nama Jiraatti lama du’e jechuun kan akkanaa ti.
Miseensoonni OPDO jiraatti lama du’an kun kan ofii salphatanii jireenya salphinaa jiraatan itti hanqannaan akkuma argaa fi dhagahaa jirru ummanni Oromoos nama yakkamaa ilmaan isaa hiisisaa, ajjeechisiisaa fi biyya’raa baqachiisaa tureef akka boo’u fi gaddu, akka gurraacha uffatu akkuma waggaan dura godhaa turan; har’as waggaa booda dirqisiisanii boochisuu fi uffata gaddaa uffachiisuuf carraaqqii guddaa taasiisaa turaniiru. Garuu akka yaadan hin taane, Iddoo gara garaatti diddaa uummanni Oromoo argisiisen harkaa fashalee jira.
Wayyaanoonnii fi Jala deemtoonni akka OPDO; waggaa tokkoon dura gaafa abbaan shiraa fi dursaan wayyaanee Mallas Zeenaawii du’u “uffata kuula gadi gargalfadhaa, kaan keessan ammoo gurraacha uffadhaatii bahaa boo’aa boochisaa, gaaddaa gadda keessan argisiisaa” jechaa turan. Tibba kana ammoo akkuma argaa fi dhagahaa turre waggaa isaa tokkoffaa sababeeffachuun bahaa boo’aa, ijaarsa Siidaa fi Paarkii Mallasaa Zeenaatiif mahaallaqa buusaa jechuun ummata goolaat jiru.
OPDOn akeeka saamichaa fi gabroomfannaa wayyaanee bakkaan gahuuf bixxilame kan uummata Oromoo hisisu, ajjeechisiisu fi qabeenya isaa saamsisuu osoo hin hanqatin tibba kanammoo harka fuudhaa wayyaaneetiif jecha, wayyaanoota har’a haangoo qabatanii jiran gammachiisuf jecha, “Paarkii fi Siidaa Mallas Zeenaawii magaaloota Oromiyaa adda addaa keessatti ijaarra” jechuun maqaa buusiitiin ummata Oromoo saamuuf carraaqaa jiru. yeroo ammaa kana maqaa ijaarsa Siidaa fi Paarkii Mallasaatin qonnaan bulaa fi hojjeetaan sivil sarvisii inni jireenya qaala’ee fi buusii hidhaa Laga Abbaayin hiraarfamaa jiru ammamoo buusiin Siidaa itti dabalamee gidirfamaa jira.
Miseensoonni OPDO warri garaaf bulan akkuma TV wayyaaneerratti isaan argaa turree fi jirru “Jaalle Mallas” jechuudhan gooftaa isaanii akka gaangee faxooree isaan yaabbataa turef “boo’aa” jedhamnii boo’aa turan. Osoo ummanni Oromoo dhaaboolee fayyaa, baruumsaa fi daandii dhabee rakkatuu, Mahaallaqa ummata Oromoorraa maqaa gibiraatiin sassaabame miiliyoonan gadi naqanii Siidaa fi Paarkii mallas jechuun magaaloota Oromiyaa gara garaa keessatti ijaaraa jiru. Akka fakkeenyaatti siidaa Mallas Zeenaawii kan OPDOn magaalaa Bishooftuu keessatti Miliyoona heedduu baasee ijaarsisee tibbana heebisiise kaasun dugaa kana caalatti mirkaneessa.
Murni badii irraa hin deebine kun ammas yakka gara biraa Oromoo irratti dalagaa jiraachuu isaa Oromoon beekuu qaba. Mormii fi jibba siidaa Miniliki Finfinnee jirurratti kan yakkamticha Mallas Zeenaawii yoo dabalamu jibbatu jibba dhalaa deemee qabsoon bilisummaaf taasifamu cimee itti fufa malee, Oromoon warra isa gabroomfatee fi isa fixeef oogdii ykn ganda isaa keessatti Siidaa fi Paarkii hin ijaaru.
OPDOn yeroo ammaa kana nama yakkamaa kanaaf jecha qabeenya Oromoo miliyoonaan lakkaawwamu dhangalaasee Magaaloota Oromiyaa keessatti Siidaa fi Paarkii Mallas ijaaruun yakka guddaa dha. Yakka dalagaa jiru kanaaf uummata Oromoo dirqiin buusii gaafachuun ammoo yakka lammataa gudhaa dha. Ummanni Oromoo garuu Mallas Zeenaawii abbaa shiraa fi yakkamaa gocha sanyii balleessuu ilmaan Oromoorratti raawwateef sababni gadduu fi boo’uu waan hin jirreef akeeki ergamtootaa hagas mara milka’aafii hin jiru. Fuunduras hin milkaa’u. Hawwiinii fi fedhiin OPDO tasumaa galma hin gahu.
OPDO’ni Ofii isaanii gabrummaa amananii fudhatanii akka ummanni Oromoos murna wayyaanee isaa gabroonfatee saamaa, ajjeesaa fi biyya dhablee isa godhaa jiruuf boo’u fi mahalaqa siidaan nama yakkamaa kanaaf ittin ijaaramu gumaachu gaafachuun qoosaa dha. Mallasaan Nama osoo lubbuun jiraatee yakka hojjeteef nama ummata Oromoo funduratti murtiif dhiihaatu ture. Oromoo qofas osoo hin taane, cufa ummatoota Itoophiyaa biratti nama yakkamaa yakka heddu dalagee dha. Nama akkanaa yakkamaa, Oromoorratti yakka hojjete kanaaf ammoo uummanni Oromoo akka gurraacha uffatuu fi akka siidaa dhaabuuf gaafachuun yakkas tuffii jabaadhas. Gochaan maqaa “Siidaa Mallas ijaaruu” jedhuun amma OPDOn itti jirus tuffii ummata Oromoorraa qabu argiisiisa. Akka OPDOn aantummaa ummata Oromoorraa hin qabnes caalatti mirkaneessa.
Mallas Zeenaawii gaggeessaa murna wayyaanee, murna saamtootaa nama turee dha, Mallas Zeenaawii, nam waayiloota isaa waliin saamicha, ajjeechaa, hidhaa fi darara ilmaan Oromoo kumaatamarratti raawwatee dha. Nama adda dureedhaan daboota IHDGn hojjetaman hunda qindeessaa turee fi itti gaafatamuu dha. Mallas Zeenaawii nama waayiloota isaa waliin Oromoo biyya abbaa isaarratti akka gabrummaa jala turuu carraaqaa turee fi nama lafa Oromtichaa ciree halagaa biyya alaatti gurgurataa turee dha. Nama yakkamaa akkanaatiif ammoo Oromoon gama kamiinuu hin gaddu, gurraachas, hin uffatu, mahaalaqa isaa baasees
magaaloota isaa keessatti Paarkiis ta’ee Siidaa nama yakkamaa duguuggaa sanyii irratti raawwateef hin ijaaru. Isa qabeenya Oromoo saamuun OPDOn Bishooftuu fi magaaloota Oromoo keessatti ijaaree fi ijaaraa jirus guyyaa isaa eeggatee sirnuma nama nyaataa wayyaanee kana waliin diigamuun isaa gongumaa hin oolu.
 Baarentuu Gadaa, gessogeda@gmail.com

High time to initiate or further a five point plan to close in on tyrants

By T Tolera | August 24, 2013
I don’t think we do have a luxury to talk else or audacity to fight each other while the people we struggle for, peacefully or armed, suffer murder and misery. Agazi militia guns down innocent demonstrators, dissents and activists tagging them extremist Muslims, OLF supporters, ONLF affiliates, G7 sympathizers and whatnot. In case of Oromos, the killing, disappearance, torture and imprisonment can only be termed as genocide in progress. It is of on the interest of all nations and nationalities to put an end to this hegemony. Of course challenges remain.
I don’t think we should ignore the fact that, following the ‘I’m Oromo First’ awakening, and intensification of resentment with some hard-liner Abyssinians, our common oppressor is laughing out loud; fuelling the increasing hostility, labelling, opposition infighting and a quest just to dominate one another. I believe records should be set straight, trust established, and we have to understand cooperation is the only way out of reign of terror and darkness. We have to move on and use this high time for change. I say high time because the dictatorship in the empire has intensified and the political engagement, often within, has reached a decisive chapter.
For the last three month, I have followed almost all articles from all sides, comments, talks and individual encounters. While I can say I have learned a lot about erratic human emotions, spreading political spectrums and chauvinistic conservatism, it is rather disappointing I could not see integration geared at cooperation between individuals and organizations of ideological diversity. The cyber war seems not to reach any consensuses and progress, or closure of any sort at all for that matter. We lack discipline and civilized conversation. People tend to move away, often stubbornly, from looking at parts and the whole and miss out important truth only to remain in profound state of inertia. As such, they are resistance for change and pursue on disgracing one another; insulting and badmouthing. You would understand the magnitude of such behaviour if you see White American academic andcontributor to Gulelepost use the f word on social media to express his disappointment and anger. We all need to recognize that fundamental changes must be pending. You might all be probably sick of the word ‘compromise’ but it is still the one thing, probably the only thing, we all have at disposal and need to embrace to bring about the much needed change to ‘Ethiopia’.
Over the last three moth, it has emerged that the Oromo cause is getting clearer and brighter to all Oromos and even to some hard-liner Abyssinians who can pass barriers to patiently listen. More Oromos are now committed and determined to pursue it. There are more bloggers, activists and people willing to die for it. It has been high agenda among the Oromos of all walks, the QEERROO youth especially at the forefront, to further tell the world the repression against the Oromos and the quest for self-rule, self-use and self-expression. Most have understood that the Oromo cause is rather a fundamental human right question than a simple quest to seek power. Yet it has been hard to work with hard-liner Abyssinians as they further distance themselves from cooperation and fail to understand the noble Oromo cause.
The ‘I’m Oromo first’ debate continues. The hatred and cyber atrocities against the Oromos could not be halted. As Oromos say ‘Oromon fira hin qabu’ which is to mean Oromos are alone for the fight. But nobody taught the ‘Oromophobia’ would be this deep-seated, contemporary and outrageously. Even after months of debate, it has become literally impossible to defuse the issue and move on. The hard-liner Abyssinians have refused to listen to the genuine questions of the Oromos. It is pertinent the Oromos just respectfully ignore them and work with who is sensible and compromising setting the records straight.

So let’s set the record straight before I free ‘Ethiopia’ out of quotation and resuscitate it from its comma. Like any other Oromo and southern citizen, for me, this ‘Ethiopia’ has three faces, bound by time and space. Oromos and other oppressed people in the south have long described the ‘Ethiopia’ that most hard-liner Abyssinians die calling as remnant of an old empire, a haunting ghost if you will, that would only scare the hell out of themselves. Not so long ago, the same ‘Ethiopia’ was sucking on blood of millions of people forcing them and annexing them in to an empire of unwilling. It built its muscle and grown its territory swirling outward to eat nations and nationalities towards itself. It grew uncontrolled and unchecked to self-destruct; and it died leaving evil spirit among us. The evil spirit might persist for some time but it certainly fades away in time. As a curious observer, I would like to mention some of the ubiquitous mottos and slogans behind this ‘Ethiopia’. Actually, some of them are not bad at all; it is just the context they are used in or the underlying meaning that is troubling.
እናቴ ኦሮሞ ናት;እኔ ግን ኢትዮጵያዊ  ነኝ  [the thesis to the futile notion that we are so much ‘mixed’]
ኦሮሚያ ምትባል ሃገር የለችም  [please check our beloved constitution :D and probably some historical maps if you care further]
እኛ ማንነታችን ኢትዮጵያዊያዊ ነው  [my passport says so, but I don’t]
የጎሳ ፖሎቲካ ይገርሰስ  [another attempt to undermine ethnic federalism]
ኢትዮጵያ ለዘላለም ትኑር  [well, this is fine for me, because I have to live anyway]
ኢትዮጵያ እናት ሀገሬ [hang on or hang yourself, not now]
ኢትዮጵያ ትቅደም  [these are the direct descendants of Mengistu himself]
አሀዳዊ ኢትዮጵያ  [as opposed to federalism, I don’t see this happening in million years]
የኢትዮጵያ ድንበር ቀይ ባህር ነው  [lol what about Eretria?]
እምዪ ሚኒሊክ የኢትዮጵያ አባት [Please come join us to inaugurate statue to our martyrs at Callii Callanqo]
እኝ ኣንከፋፈልም; አንድ ሃገር; አንድ ሕዝብ [let me rephrase for you, you must be saying Abyssinian language and culture?]
The ‘Ethiopia’, as we know it, is not much different from the old empire of evil spirit self. TPLF built this ‘Ethiopia’ based on divide and rule, blame and hate, lose and win, and subordinate and rule. Over the last two decades, ethnic self-awareness and conciseness has reached to the point of irreversibility while the identity [if there is any] of ‘Ethiopiawinet’ has been proportionally weakened and eroded. And it is not surprising that secessionist nationalists and ‘Ethiopianistic’ nationalists are diverging fast while TPLF is trying to realign itself at the centre. This ‘Ethiopia’ is pretty much fake without its presence on the ground, only limited as propaganda and events served as an excuse to loot resources, repress nations and deny the full right to self-expression and self-rule. Let’s see some of the slogans making up this ‘Ethiopia’.
Ethiopia a country of tolerance [while it, TPLF, incites conflict between Muslims and Christians]
Unity in diversity [while it incites violence between the Oromos and Somalis, the Oromos and Afars, the Oromos and Amharas, the Oromos and Benishangul etc]
Religions freedom [while it tries to nominate its own delegates at the cenode and Majlis and impose Ahbash]
Ethnic equality [while it advances the language and culture of the Abyssinians in print and audio-visual media]
Decentralized power [while it creates satellite organizations such as OPDO and puts puppet to control the nation of Oromo]
In a cheap attempt to halt or dishonour cooperation between the Amharas and Oromos, TPLF brands Oromos as secessionists while it portrays Amharas as on the quest of resetting Ethiopia to a backup state of the imperial eras.
ኦሮሞ ኢትዮጵያን ይበታትናታል [as if Oromos were/are not leading figures in whatever ‘Ethiopia’ was/is]
ኦሮሞ ሀገር አፍራሽ ነው  [ኦሮሞ ያልገነባውን ኣያፈርስም]
አማራው ህዝብ የቀድሞ ስርአትን ሊመልስ ነው  [we specify them as hard-liner Abyssinians]
አማራው ባህልህና ቐንቐህን እንዳታሳድግ እንቅፋት ነው [while TPLF denied to promote Afaan Oromoo to federal working language]
Countries evolve and societies change. There was not English 200 years ago in Africa; there was not French or Portuguese either. There was not Amharic in Wallo and Raya around same time. So much has changed and so much more has to change. Change is desired but does not come easy particularly in this epoch of time of cultural and linguistic reclamation. Change is successful if only among the willing built on trust. As an Oromo and citizen of the empire, I believe fundamental changes are essential to bring about socioeconomic and political reform in creating a country for all. A country that all would be proud about and with. A country that respects its people equally; that represents its people equally and that is protected by all citizens, all in one and one in all.  This is what I call the New Ethiopia.
The New Ethiopia project is simple 5 point plan in 5 step processes. I don’t want to further complicate things by bringing the mythological fairy-tale of Dr. Fikre Tolosa and its propositional derivation byFayis Oromia [gadaacom]. I don’t want to go to the moment of Big Bang and pull out history to support my steps or points. I believe current conditions on the ground dictate the best approach is step-wise with no step skipped.
  1. Fight it out- the cyber world has shown as how fierce a battle can be inflicting a bruise within. We fight it behind PCs and behind a cover. I think we need to bring the fight out in to mid-air and midday and see who would fall in to the ground and who would remain in darkness. The truth prevails. There was a good start in South Africa but has short lived since.
  2. Reconcile –people don’t only go in to reconciliation following brutal civil war or conflict; it is also instrumental to bring about a common ideological basis in a fragmented polity. It is where one compromises to give way to the popular idea and gets respect as worthy alternative in turn.
  3. Forum and discourse- an idea remains, however defeated, old, ill or unpopular it is. Who taughtWaleling’s piece of writing and federalist tendencies would come to be in 1991? Who taught Afaan Oromoo would be written in Qubee to drive the entire bureaucracy? A discourse should allow the tolerance of ideological differences whereby they are debated over and over again to establish a dichotomous [or trichotomous] politics we see in UK [labour and tories] and USA [democrats and republicans].
  4. National interests [uniting factors]- construct some assets that worth to be a national interest of all citizens of the New Ethiopia. This is not about waging war on Somalia or Egypt. This is about reconstructing Ethiopian values that are common across ethnic boundaries and political ideologies. It is an issue of highest volatility and should be dealt with maximum restraint.
  5. Let the people decide [things that might change]- this is probably the toughest part that is divisive.  In my view, there are things we can’t do more than just debate on. There are things that require the vote of every citizen of the New Ethiopia. The most we can do is to short list the alternatives to the people. For example, weather to establish an Autonomous or Independent or Federal Oromia is of an issue of the people of Oromia and should be decided upon accordingly through referendum.
TPLF is aware it does not have much of a time to loot and kill, divide and rule. It is on a desperate attempt to stay on power by firing whatever it gets. I believe we use this high time to build a united front and confront TPLF and dislodge it from its power and establish fair Ethiopia for all.

Contact to the author toleraat@gmail.com

Oromo activist, Tesfahun Chemeda, dies in prison while serving life sentence

tesfahunchemeda(OPride) – Engineer Tesfahun Chemeda, a fierce Oromo rights advocate and a former UNHCR recognized refugee, died yesterday of undisclosed cause at Kaliti prison, where he was serving a life sentence under concocted charges of plotting to overthrow government, reports said.

Chemeda was nabbed along with a close friend Mesfin Abebe in 2007 from Nairobi, where they lived as refugees since 2005, by Kenyan anti-terrorism police and was later deported to Ethiopia, according to Oromia Support Group (OSG), a UK-based human rights organization.

“The two men were picked up in a restaurant by Kenyan anti-terrorist police on 27 April 2007 and taken to Kamukunji police station, where they were held overnight before being transferred to Giriri police station,” 
OSG wrote in 2010 press release.

The duo were subsequently visited by UNHCR and members of the FBI in Kenya who assured them that “they would not be deported,” according to OSG reports and activists who were advocating for their release at the time.

“I had an opportunity to meet with Kenyan anti-terrorism head, inspector Francis Wanjiru, and an FBI agent,” wrote Raajii Gudeta, 31, in an email to OPride from Edmonton, Canada where he now lives. “Both the FBI and Kenyan official told me that they [Chemeda and Abebe] were not terrorists. We don’t have any business with them but the Ethiopia government need them badly.”

On May 9, 2007, during a court hearing, Kenyan officials told a local judge the two were already “sent back to Ethiopia to face terrorism charges,” citing a doctored “Laissez Passer from the Ethiopian embassy, dated 1 May, which had obviously been backdated as that day was a public holiday,” according to OSG.

Efforts by members of the Kenyan Oromo community, Kenyan Human Rights Commission, and the UNHCR to prevent their refoulement went to no avail, according to Sori Fengor, 43, of Minnesota, who knew and lived with Chemeda at the time. Chemeda and Abebe were held incommunicado until December 2008 when they were formally charged in Ethiopian court.

“The last time I saw Chemeda was on May 10 2007 at Muthaiga police station,” wrote Gudeta, who worked as a Community Development Officer for the International Rescue Committee at the time. “After I dropped off food and water for them, Tesfahun saw me crying and grabbed a copy of the Daily Nation newspaper and slapped me saying, ‘we will be handed over to the Woyane [Ethiopian] regime, forget about us and focus on organizing the Oromo youth so that the Oromo struggle can reach its final destination.’”

Chemeda was accused of being an activist with the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an organization formed in 1973 to fight for self-determination of Oromo people in Ethiopia. A three-judge panel at Ethiopia’s federal court later
sentenced Chemeda to life in prison without parole in April 2011.

Fifteen other Oromo co-defendants received stiff prison terms while Abebe was sentenced to death. The Oromo are Ethiopia's single largest ethnic group, comprising more than 40 percent of the country's population. There are an estimated 20 to 30,000 Oromo political prisoners in Ethiopia.

Chemeda was born in the East Wollega zone of Oromia region near Guduru district. He attended Shambu High School before joining Addis Ababa University's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Following his graduation in 2001 from Addis Ababa University, Chemeda, a civil engineer, worked for Ethiopian Road Transport Authority.

Chemeda sought asylum in Kenya sometime in 2005 following harassment and intimidation at the hands of Ethiopian security and road transport administration officials, his acquaintances said.

Early Saturday afternoon when the news of Chemeda’s death broke on social media, activists changed their profile pictures to his photo and wrote to express their grief and condolences. Many remembered Chemeda as a humble, soft-spoken rational thinker, and strategic leader.

Other acquaintances reached by OPride remembered Chemeda for his relentless advocacy and commitment to Oromo people’s freedom. Many Oromo refugees in Kenya knew him in 2005 and 2006 through his role in the now defunct East African Oromo Students’ Association and efforts to organize Oromo refugees in Kenya.

Chemeda’s involvement in Oromo student activism dates back to early 2000. “I went to Menelik Hospital with Chemeda to collect the corpse of Simee Tarafa, an Oromo student who was mysteriously killed in 2001 while attending Mekelle University in Ethiopia’s Tigray region,” recalled Geresu Tufa.

“Before that I worked closely with Chemeda in a 12-member Oromo students committee set up to organize a nationwide campaign to extinguish a forest fire in Bale and Borana regions.”  Chemeda was instrumental in signing up over 3000 volunteers and about 480 students dispatched to put out the forest fire, according to Tufa.
Chemeda has been in solitary confinement at Kaliti prison for nearly two years after he was transferred there from Ziway, according to family sources. Early reports about the circumstances of his death are unclear. Some suggest that Ethiopian officials murdered him because they could not break his spirit even after years of torture. Others say authorities are unofficially claiming that he committed suicide.

Chemeda’s sister, the only visitor he had seen for years, was denied the body on Saturday pending “further medical examination,” according to Gudeta. She had seen him earlier this week and reported no changes in his attitude or demeanor.