OLLAA has received credible reports from OMN and a source on the ground regarding the May 6th extrajudicial execution of a pregnant couple at a wedding reception in Kachisi town, West Shewa zone, by members of the Ethiopian military (ENDF). Mrs. Genet Birri and Mr. Getachew Kisi were teachers from Kachisi who were in their 30s and the proud parents of two children. As reported by OMN, Mrs. Genet was also roughly seven months pregnant with their third child at the time of her death. Our source reports that the ENDF targeted Mrs. Genet and Mr. Getachew because they had relatives in the OLA.
In Ethiopia, approximately one week after a wedding, a newlywed couple’s close family or friends will throw a party at their house in order to celebrate their marriage (this ceremony is known as “Deebii” in Afaan Oromoo). On May 6, 2022, Mrs. Genet and Mr. Getachew traveled to their friend’s home in order to attend such a celebration. According to OMN, while they were gone, ENDF soldiers went to the couple’s home in Kachisi, but found that the only people present at the scene were Mrs. Genet’s sister and their two children. When they asked if Mr. Getachew and Mrs. Genet were home, they were told that both of them were attending their relative’s Deebii celebration.
Upon hearing this news, the soldiers headed to the party venue, where they asked for Mr. Getachew and Mrs. Genet. When the couple went outside to see who was looking for them, the soldiers instantly began firing their weapons at Mr. Getachew. According to individuals interviewed by OMN, Mr. Getachew tried to use his body to protect his wife, but the soldiers didn’t stop firing, and cruelly shot both individuals multiple times. Mr. Getachew was pronounced dead at the scene, while Mrs. Genet passed away due to her injuries after about an hour.
According to one of Mr. Getachew’s friends, whose name was withheld from OMN’s report, the soldiers who shot them were heard telling the pair, “You won’t live peacefully whilst your relatives who are OLA’s fighters are killing us.”
A family member of the deceased, who spoke with OLLAA staff about the attack, explained that about a month before this incident occurred, Mr. Getachew was threatened by the Head of Ginberet woreda’s Security Bureau, who had told him, “I will make sure you pay the price,” and that the two had never met before that incident. Our source also reports that others who had attended the Deebii were arrested, namely those that the security forces were able to find. Although the exact charges they face are unclear, it seems likely that they were arrested for connections to the OLA through Mr. Getachew and Mrs. Genet.
Mr. Getachew and Mrs. Genet, like countless Oromo throughout Oromia, were targeted by the ENDF due to their purported connections to the OLA. In this case, it was claimed that they had relatives in the OLA. They were never charged with any crime, or afforded their rights to due process and a fair trial, and were instead killed in cold blood, leaving two young children orphaned.
International Law:
Under international law, States are obligated to ensure that the State, or its agents, like police officers or members of the military, do not violate the rights of its citizens. Multiple human rights treaties that Ethiopia is a party to uphold the right to life as a fundamental right, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Extrajudicial executions are a violation of the right to life, and involve the deliberate killing of an individual by a State agent outside of a legal framework.