The Story of the Professor | (Nov. 16, 2020) Human of Oromia

The Story of the Professor:
Hussein Kedir, PhD, is a husband and father of four who was born and raised in Bale, Agarfa, Oromia Region. He attended the local high school in Bale, where many of his teachers described him as keen and enthusiastic about wanting more for his community. He continued his education in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, at Addis Ababa University (AAU), completing his bachelor’s in teaching business education in 2000.  He continued at AAU, earning a master’s in educational administration in 2002, a master’s in educational planning and management in 2007, and finally his PhD in educational policy and leadership in 2013. Hussein Kedir, PhD, is a husband and father of four who was born and raised in Bale, Agarfa, Oromia Region. He attended the local high school in Bale, where many of his teachers described him as keen and enthusiastic about wanting more for his community. He continued his education in the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, at Addis Ababa University (AAU), completing his bachelor’s in teaching business education in 2000.  He continued at AAU, earning a master’s in educational administration in 2002, a master’s in educational planning and management in 2007, and finally his PhD in educational policy and leadership in 2013.

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The professor’s passion for his community can be seen in his various research publications that covered educational policy, planning, and leadership as well as changes and reform initiatives pertaining to decentralization, organizational capacity analysis, capacity building, school improvement, education sector diagnosis, management development, knowledge management and the economics and financing of education. Dr. Kedir started his research in 2002 at AAU with his study entitled “Analysis of Local Capacities (human, financial and material) in Implementing Decentralization of Educational Management in Oromia Regional State”.

That same year, he became AAU’s Coordinator for Educational Planning and Management of Regular Programs. He then advanced to the position of head of the Department of Educational Planning and Management. His commitment to change has not been limited to education and research. He became a member of the Ethiopian Educational Planning and Management Association and a national team member of the Consultancy Project on Micro Planning and School Mapping for the Southern Region (SNNPR), which was sponsored by UNICEF in 2007/2008. Hoping for a better Ethiopia, he also conducted leadership and management related short-term training for public and private organizations.

On July 11, 2020, the Federal Police Forces entered Dr. Kedir’s home in Addis Ababa and detained him without a warrant or probable cause. After 14 days in jail without any due process, he was transferred to Bale, Agarfa, and was jailed in an elementary school filled with approximately 400 peaceful protesters. According to his wife, Dr. Kedir is being detained for his affiliation with Jawar Mohammed, who is a member of the most popular Oromo political party and is being detained under falsified charges of terrorism. Since the government could not present any evidence against Dr. Kedir, the court ordered him to be released on 10,000 BIRR bail. The doctor’s family paid it but the police refused to release him. On November 6, 2020, in the middle of the night, the Federal Police Forces kidnapped Dr. Kedir from the crowded jail without any legal authorization. As of today, his whereabouts are still unknown.

“Humans of Oromia are being brutally beaten, raped, murdered and held in detention centers for just simply being Oromo. Follow us as we take you on a journey through their untold horror stories.”

Written by Nadiya Boru