OLLAA has received a credible report that members of the Oromia police force recently shot a young teacher, Ms. Darmi Dubba Libaa, in Nagelle Borana, East Guji zone, following a clash between Oromia police and OLA fighters.
OLLAA spoke with Ms. Libaa’s father, Mr. Duba Libaa, about the incident. According to Mr. Libaa, Darmi is 28 years old and had recently moved to Nagelle Borana town due to insecurity in the Bura Dhera area. She taught at the Bura Dhera Primary School. She was staying in Gabaya Looni, which was located just a few kilometers away from the Nagelle Borana town center.
According to Mr. Libaa, at around 7pm on January 9, 2022, a period of intense fighting broke out for about an hour between the OLA and the Oromia special police at Gabaya Looni. He reported that the Oromia police had been overpowered by the OLA, and that, by the time reinforcements arrived, the OLA fighters had already left the scene. The police then went door-to-door seeking the whereabouts of OLA fighters and those supporting them. He reports that the residents of Gabaya Looni were harassed and intimidated by the Oromia police. He further alleged that the police forcefully searched the house Darmi was staying at that night, and that, once the search was complete, they took everyone present, including Darmi, outside and began shooting at them indiscriminately.
Darmi was shot in the face multiple times, and was left with injuries to her cheeks and the lower side of her mouth. Unconscious, she fell to the floor. The police, believing that she had died, left her behind when they departed. Once the police had left, those members of the household who had fled for their own safety came back to the scene and, fortunately, found Darmi was still alive. She was immediately rushed to Nagele Borana General hospital. After being referred to Hawassa hospital, 309 km away from Nagelle Borana, Darmi is currently undergoing life saving surgery for her injuries.
International Law
States are the primary duty bearer under international law, and are obligated to ensure that the State, or its agents, like a police officer, 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 and prohibit the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture.
The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials establishes that law enforcement officials may not inflict any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on individuals, and further establishes that they may use force “only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty”. The UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials further provides that law enforcement may not: “use firearms against persons except in self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, to prevent the perpetration of a particularly serious crime involving grave threat to life, to arrest a person presenting such a danger and resisting their authority, or to prevent his or her escape, and only when less extreme means are insufficient to achieve these objectives. In any event, intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.”
Image credit: Africa (orthographic projection).svg: Martin23230 LocationEritrea.svg: User:Rei-artur derivative work Sémhur, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons