The 34-year-old’s songs focused on the rights of his Oromo people
ADDIS ABABA, July 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Demonstrations have broken out in parts of Ethiopia following the shooting dead of musician Hachalu Hundessa, well known for his political songs.
Seven have died during the spontaneous protests, medics said.
Hachalu’s songs often focused on the rights of the country’s Oromo ethnic group and became anthems in a wave of protests that led to the downfall of the previous prime minister in 2018.
The 34-year-old had said that he had received death threats.
The police are now investigating the killing, which took place on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, and several people have been arrested.
Thousands of his fans headed to the hospital in the city where the body of the singer was taken on Monday night. To them, he was a voice of his generation that protested against decades of government repression, he says.
In Addis Ababa, police used tear gas to disperse the crowd outside the hospital and gunshots have been heard in the city where people set fire to tyres.
In Adama, 90km south-east of Addis Ababa, five people died after being shot during demonstrations and 75 others were injured, hospital chief executive Dr Mekonnin Feyisa said.
Nineteen others were injured in nearby Dera town, he added.
Meanwhile, in the eastern town of Chiro, two people were shot dead during protests, a medic at the local hospital said.
The internet has also been shut down in parts of the country as the protests spread in Oromia regional state.
Hachalu’s body was being taken to his hometown, Ambo, about 100km west of the capital, but protesters tried to stop it and insisted that he should be buried in Addis Ababa.
In the eastern city of Harar, protesters have pulled down a statue of a royal prince – Ras Makonnen Wolde Mikael – who was the father of Haile Selassie, Ethiopia’s last emperor.
The statue shows Ras Makonnen, an important military figure and former governor of Harar province in the 19th Century under then-Emperor Menelik II, sitting on a horse.
In a recent interview with local TV station Oromia Media Network, Hachalu had said that people should remember that all the horses seen mounted by old leaders belonged to the people.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has expressed his condolences saying in a tweet that Ethiopia “lost a precious life today” and describing the singer as “marvellous”.
The musician’s death and the protests comes as political tensions are rising following the indefinite postponement of elections, on account of the coronavirus pandemic, that were due in August.
They would have been the first electoral test for Abiy after he came to power in April 2018.
The Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, have long complained of being side-lined.
Demonstrations erupted in 2016 and pressure built on the government.
The ruling coalition eventually replaced then-Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn with Abiy, who is Oromo himself.
He has brought in a series of reforms which has transformed what was considered a very oppressive state.
He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 primarily for making peace with long-time foe Eritrea, but his efforts in transforming Ethiopia were also recognised. — NNN-AGENCIES