Hachalu dogessa

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Hachalu Hundessa (2019)

Hachalu Hundessa ( Oromo : Haacaaluuhundessaa; Amharic : ሀጫሉ ሁንዴሳ) (* 1985 in Ambo ; † June 29, 2020 in Addis Ababa ) was an Ethiopian musician and activist.

Childhood, adolescence and attachment

Hachalu Hundessa was born in 1985 in the city of Ambo in the Oromia region, the son of Gudatu Hora and Hundessa Bonsa. He belonged to the Oromo ethnic group . Already in childhood and school he sang and looked after the cattle at home .

In 2003, the seventeen year old took part in protests, as a result of which he was arrested and imprisoned for five years until 2008.

Music career

Hundessa wrote and lyrics most of the songs on his first album in prison. The album Sanyii Mootii was released in 2009. In 2013 he toured the US and released his second album, Waa'ee Keenyaa , which became the best-selling African music album on Amazon .

Hundessa's protest songs united the Oromo and encouraged them to oppose the oppression. His songs are closely related to the protests that began in 2015. His ballad Maalan Jira (What Existence Is Mine) dealt with the expulsion of the Oromo from Addis Ababa . Months after the single was released in June 2015, protests against the Addis Ababa master plan broke out across the Oromia region . The song became an anthem for the protesters as well as one of the most watched Oromo music videos.

In December 2017, Hundessa sang at the largest concert to date organized by Oroma in Addis Ababa, which raised donations for 700,000 Oromo that were displaced within Ethiopia .

assassination

In June 2020, Hundessa reported death threats against him , including in an interview with the Oromia Media Network , headed by Jawar Mohammed . On the evening of June 29, 2020, he was gunned down in Addis Ababa and taken to Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital , where he succumbed to his injuries. Hundreds of participants gathered at the hospital. When police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, protests and rioting erupted for days across the country, killing at least 166 people. The police arrested several people they believed to be linked to the murder.

On June 30, 2020, the internet was shut down for much of Ethiopia, a measure the government had previously taken during civil unrest and elections. On the same day, a statue of the former Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie was destroyed in London's Wimbledon district . In Harar , the statue of Prince Makonnen Wolde Mikael , a soldier under the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II , was torn from its pedestal. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed condolences to Hundessa's family and pressed for calm amid growing unrest.

When the demonstrators insisted that Hachalu Hundessa be buried in Addis Ababa, but that the body was transferred to Ambo according to his family's wishes, Jawar Mohammed, along with his supporters and guards , attacked the transport. This attack was stopped by the Ethiopian Federal Police, and one policeman was killed. 35 people, including Jawar, were arrested and several firearms (including military weapons ) ensured.

Two men finally confessed to murdering Hundessa. The murder allegedly acted as part of a conspiracy to overthrow the government, for which a rebel group affiliated with the Oromo Liberation Front is believed to have been responsible. A third suspect is still considered fleeting. The Ethiopian government accused the Tigray People's Liberation Front of having deliberately exploited the protests after the death of the musician for violent conflicts.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Lethabo: Hachalu Hundessa Death, Dead - Hachalu Hundessa Died, Killed, Wife, Wiki, Bio . In: Latest News South Africa , June 30, 2020. 
  2. ↑ a b c d e Deadly protests erupt after Ethiopian singer killed . In: BBC News , June 30, 2020. 
  3. ↑ Hachalu Hundessa, Ethiopian Singer and Activist, Is Shot Dead . In: The New York Times , June 30, 2020. 
  4. ↑ Oromo Person of The Year 2017: Haacaaluuhundessaa . In: OPride , December 31, 2017. 
  5. ^ "We are here": The soundtrack to the Oromo revolution gripping Ethiopia . In: African Arguments , March 30, 2018. 
  6. ↑ Violence after Ethiopian singer's death killed 166 . In: BBC News . July 5, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed July 6, 2020]).
  7. ↑ Haile Selassie statue destroyed in London park . BBC News. July 2, 2020. Accessed July 2, 2020.
  8. ↑ Ethiopia police confirm arrest of leading opposition politician. Retrieved July 5, 2020 .
  9. ^ Protests over Ethiopian singer's death 'kill 81' . In: BBC News . July 1, 2020 ( bbc.com [accessed July 5, 2020]).
  10. ↑ Ethiopia: Suspects confess to murder of singers . In: Tagesschau.de . July 11, 2020 ( tagesschau.de [accessed July 12, 2020]).
personal data
SURNAME Hundessa, Hachalu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ethiopian singer, musician and activist
DATE OF BIRTH 1985
PLACE OF BIRTH Ambo (Ethiopia)
DATE OF DEATH June 29, 2020
Place of death Addis Ababa