OLLAA has spoken to a family member of Warqina Beka Galeera regarding his extrajudicial execution by members of the Oromia regional special forces in March 2023.
According to our source, Warqina Beka Galeera was born and raised in the Diki Kebele, Ambo, West Shewa zone. He was a husband and father to six children: four sons and two daughters. Warqina was known as one of the most successful farmers in his community.
Our source reports that, on March 22, 2023, Warqina was forcefully taken from his home by a member of the Oromia special forces, who beat him and threw him into the jungle. Three days later, early in the morning of March 25th, the security officer returned to his home, where Warqina was still recovering from his previous assault. However, this time he was accompanied by additional members of the Oromia Special Forces and members of local militias. They again removed Warqina from his home, and after forcing him to walk for about 5 kilometers, our source reports that approximately five security forces killed Warqina in a forest known as Hobora.
Our source claims that, despite the fact that Warqina did not have any political affiliations or involvement of any kind, Warqina was targeted and killed by Oromia special forces based on the false accusation that Warqina had hosted OLA members in his home.
When community members went to Hobora to collect Warqina’s body, the security forces reportedly initially refused to allow them to access his corpse. Eventually, Warqina was buried at the location of his extrajudicial killing and was denied a proper funeral, which would have been customary in the community’s culture.
Since Warqina’s extrajudicial killing, our source reports that his family has been frequently threatened by security forces. In one instance, they threatened Warqina’s 80-year-old father, Bkea, with a gun and told him, “We will shoot; you are Shane too.” (Note: Shane is a term frequently used by the Ethiopian government to refer to the OLA.) Warqina’s sister-in-law was also beaten by government forces.
The story of Warqina is the story of many Oromos, who frequently are subjected to extrajudicial killings by Ethiopian security forces, who operate with impunity inside Oromia.
International law
International human rights law contains the obligation for States to protect individuals from human rights violations, including violations of the right to life, which is guaranteed under numerous human rights treaties that Ethiopia is a party to, including the UDHR, ICCPR, CRC, and ACHPR. Extrajudicial executions involve the deliberate killing of individuals by state agents outside of any legal framework and constitute a violation of this right. Warqina’s treatment and killing represent a clear violation of international human rights instruments and the Ethiopian Constitution.