The Police Commissioner of the Burayu town, Solomon Tadesse, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. The Police Commissioner was killed on Friday in the town of the Oromia regional state, about 12km west of Addis Ababa.
Tesfaye Dinku, Commander of the Liyu (special) police force for special zones surrounding Addis Ababa city, who was with him, was wounded by the gunmen as well.
It is not clear who carried out the attack and no suspect has been apprehended so far, Oromia regional communication bureau head Getachew Balcha has said.
According to the communication head, the attack was carried out while the two police officials were having lunch together near the office of the town administration.
The ruling party had been accusing the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) of killings several ethnic Oromo high-level government officials in western Oromia.
Critics say the killing of the police commissioner and high level officials showcases the government’s poor security management.
The current health condition of the police commander Tesfaye Dinku is unknown.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of residents of Hawassa city, the capital of the South Nations Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR), rallied in support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the ruling Prosperity Party. The governing party led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appears to be on campaign for reelection although the election campaign season has not started per the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) guidelines.
Some of the slogans held up by the demonstrators read as “We support Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed; We support the vision of Prosperity Party; We oppose those forces which are plotting to avert the ongoing political reforms in the country.”
Similar pro-Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the ruling party were held in Bishoftu town, 45 Km east of Addis Ababa and Negele town in the Guji zone of Oromia state.
“Prosperity Party for all, All for the Prosperity Party and Unity for Peace and Prosperity,” were some of the slogans held up by the demonstrators.
In a similar development, the Gedeo Zone Council unanimously approved a statehood request forward to it by its democracy and good governance standing committee.
The approval comes after a thorough study was conducted and discussions were held with the people of Gedeo zone, Yemisrach Gemeda, speaker of the council has said.
Accordingly, the statehood request is referred to as the regional parliament which in turn would refer the case to the House of Federation.
So far, more than ten statehood requests have been referred to the House of Federation, and all remain pending after the Sidama zone referendum for statehood was approved.