The Story of a Brother | (Nov. 30, 2020) Human of Oromia

Galib Aba Sambi was a husband, father of four, son, brother, and teacher. Sambi was a teacher in the small town of Seqa located in the Jimma zone. He was described as a peaceful ordinary teacher that loved his job and his people. When he was not with his family, he dedicated his extra time to help educate his community.

Unfortunately, Sambi is not being remembered for his community work or love for his family but rather for his connection to a prominent Oromo activist, his brother Yaya Beshir. Yaya Beshir lives and studies in Stockholm, Sweden, at Malmo University, studying global political studies. Beshir is well-known for his controversial social media live broadcasts and unapologetically updating the Oromo community on what is happening in Ethiopia. Beshir never held back and for that his brother suffered the fate of being murdered by a corrupt regime. His only crime was being the relative of an out-spoken social media activist. As described in Beshir’s obituary for his beloved brother,

“Galib was sinfully murdered by the authorities just because he was my brother. As a diaspora-based critic of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s regime, I have received a number of threatening messages from PM Abiy Ahmed’s security over the last few months. However, I would have never thought they would attack my innocent family members back home to revenge me, because my family members are neutral of any side of politics.”

On November 19, 2020, three masked men dressed as military forces invaded Sambi’s apartment with no warrant and arrested him with no charges, leaving his wife and children confused and scared.

A couple of hours later an unknown person called to inform Sambi’s wife that her husband was found in the bush near the town of Jimma. The caller said that he was nearby when he heard gunshots and bravely ran to the area where the shots were fired and found Sambi suffering from three gunshot wounds. He quickly rushed Sambi to Jimma Hospital, where doctors worked tirelessly to keep him alive. Unfortunately, on the evening of November 22, 2020, Sambi succumbed to his wounds and passed away. His murder is a loss not only to his family but to his whole community and nation.

The horrific story of Galib Aba Sambi.

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