OLLAA’s staff has spoken with Akililu Hordofa regarding the multiple arbitrary arrests and detentions he faced at the hands of successive Ethiopian governments.
Akililu Hordofa was born in Gawo Qebe district Qellem Wallaga zone of Oromia. Akililu is a husband and father of five: three sons and two daughters. He reports that he is known in his community for his good character and devoted much of his career to teaching at Dambi Dollo high school.
Akililu has been subjected to multiple rights violations under the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and Prosperity Party (PP) governments. On multiple occasions, he has been imprisoned, tortured, and stripped of his dignity. During Akililu’s first encounter with government forces in 2011, he reports that he was forcibly removed from a class he was attending and detained based on the suspicion that he was a member of the OLF. Akililu was taken to Kumsa Moroda Hall in Nakamte, where he claims he experienced torture and inhuman treatment for about two years. When security forces released him, they verbally warned him that he should not tell anyone he had been detained by the government, or else he would face future imprisonment.
In 2016, Oromia police forces reportedly broke into Akililu’s home around midnight and took him naked from his bed. They refused his request to be allowed to put on clothing before he left his home. He reports that later that morning, the police forced Akililu to walk naked in front of others in the town in order to humiliate him. This time, Akililu reports he was arrested because he had coordinated Oromo protests and asked political questions. He was detained in the Dambi Dollo prison center for two months, at which point he was transferred to ‘Xolay’ (a federal police training camp), before being sent to Jimma. After two years of imprisonment, Akililu’s Ethiopian security forces released him and told him to go to his home. However, after two months, Akililu reports he was arrested again and taken to Sanqalle prison facility in Ambo for about six months.
Following the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to power in 2018, Akililu reports that he was again detained in 2019 and taken to Xolay for 10 months. One month after he was released, he was re-arrested and taken back to Sanqalle. There, he reports he suffered hunger and other forms of mistreatment. He was finally released after being detained for one year.
Upon his release, Akililu learned he had been terminated from his job. Akililu traveled to Addis Ababa (Finfine) to appeal the termination of his employment contract. Unfortunately, while in Addis, government security forces arrested him again and brought him to Mikelawi prison facility in Finfine, where they detained him for six months. He reports he was arrested for the sixth time in 2022, accused of being a member of the OLA and taken to Dire Dawa before being released for the final time. It is important to note that, despite being imprisoned on six separate occasions, Akililu was never convicted of a crime.
International Law
International law protects citizens from arbitrary arrest and detentions; which are arrests and detentions that are not in accordance with the procedures established by law. Detained individuals also have certain rights, including access to their family, which is also protected in the Ethiopian constitution. Those who have been arrested or detained must be brought promptly before a judge or court so the lawfulness of their arrest or detention can be ruled upon.
Under international law, States also have the duty to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the person and are not subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
Akililu’s case is similar to that of thousands of Oromos languishing in Ethiopian prisons. He experienced arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and inhuman treatment, and denial of his right to a fair and public trial. His work contract was been illegally terminated. Upon his release, he received no compensation for his wrongful imprisonment. He and other Oromos who have experienced similar treatment, have little hope that those who violated their rights will ever be brought to justice.