OLLAA’s staff recently spoke with Gesisa Kusa (full name withheld at the victim’s request), a man whose lifetime of advocacy for the Oromo people has led him to suffer abuses at the hands of multiple Ethiopian governments. Gesisa’s life has been one of unparalleled dedication, sacrifice, and unspeakable hardship for the sake of his people.
Gesisa Kusa was born in Mandi, in the West Wollega zone of Oromia. He is 60 years old and has never married, having devoted his life to the Oromo struggle. Gesisa was forced to drop out of school when he was in the 10th grade because he decided to join the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and fight against the oppressive policies of the DERG in 1989. The DERG is remembered as being one of the most brutal Ethiopian governments which violently crushed democratic sentiments and individual freedoms of Ethiopians throughout the country.
Even before Mr. Gesisa joined the OLF, he faced arbitrary arrests and targeting by the Ethiopian government. He reports that he was first arbitrarily arrested in 1993, and held in Dhidhesa Prison for an entire year before he managed to escape. His freedom did not last long, and Gesisa was rearrested in Dembi Dollo and detained for another six months. After the OLF established a base in Eritrea in 1998, Gesisa fled the country, first to Sudan, and then to Eritrea.
Mr. Gesisa reports he was arbitrarily arrested again in 2008 and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. During this time, he was detained in four different prison facilities: Asosa, Maekelawi, Kaliti, and Batu. He claims that, during this time, he was subjected to human rights violations including torture, which left him with injuries that continue to plague him today. Gesisa remained imprisoned until 2018 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed rose to power. At that time, the Ethiopian government and the OLF signed a peace agreement, and Gesisa was one of the numerous political prisoners pardoned and granted amnesty by the new Ethiopian government.
In November 2021, members of Ethiopian security forces came to Gesisa’s home and arrested him without a warrant. Gesisa reports that the Ethiopian government accused him of supporting the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) solely because he was a well-known member of OLF. He was taken to Burayu Prison, where he remained illegally detained for four months until a court ordered his release on bail. Instead of releasing him, officials transferred Gesisa to the Dalati Prison Center in Sabata where reports he faced further human rights abuses, including inhumane treatment and torture. Gesisa was released from detention in June 2021.
Unfortunately, Gesisa reports that he was detained yet again just three months later, in September 2021. This time, he was taken to Mikelawi Prison for four months, before being transferred to Abba Samel Prison, where he was detained for another month. He reports that, again, he experienced inhuman treatment. Finally, Mr. Gesisa was released after paying a 25,000 birr bond. Currently, Mr. Gasisa is receiving medical treatment at a local hospital, which is only possible due to the support of his friends.
International Law
Citizens are protected under international law from arbitrary arrests and detentions, which are arrests and detentions that are not in accordance with the procedures established by law. Certain rights are also guaranteed to those who have been detained, including the due process of law. International law also contains a prohibition on torture and inhuman treatment. These rights are also protected under the ICCPR, CAT African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, and the Ethiopian constitution.