Tuesday November 5, 2024
Sheik Mohammed Mekin Haji
The lawlessness in Ethiopia which is appearing more like the hallmarks of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government seems to be worsening.
In the latest string of attacks on civilians in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, Sheik Mohammed Mekin Haji, Imam of a Mosque in Dera District of North Shoa, is reportedly killed.
He was first kidnapped by the militant group with 12 other people from a Mosque in Adea Melkie Kebele of Dera district. Those who were kidnapped with him are reported to be close to him.
Enat Party, an opposition party, released a statement expressing condolences and sharing some details about the killing. He was kidnapped more than a month ago and there had been an exerted effort to secure his release.
The militant group first demanded a ransom of three million birr of which 1.4 million birr was paid out to Oromo Liberation Army kidnappers. However, the group demanded the remaining portion of the money it asked for and also a firearm. Why the group demanded so from a Mosque Imam is unclear.
In a separate incident and about a week of interval, a priest was killed in the same area. Like the Imam, he was kidnapped before he was killed. The kidnappers demanded 800,000 Ethiopian birr and it was paid.
Enat Party said ” recurring ethnic based massacres happen in the area .” On the other hand, according to the party, the crimes are covered up including with “Propaganda.”
The party went further to make ideological accusations against Abiy Ahmed’s administration. “As we have been notified repeatedly, in the rush to detach Ethiopia from ancient religions and take it to the ‘new world order’ work is relentlessly underway including from government structure…,” it said.
It added that infringing on religious institutions in words and actions, harassing religious fathers, weakening the number of believers, displacing and region based massacres are parts of the strategy.
Enat party also allege that a plot is brewed so as to instigate religious based conflict so that the followers of one faith will not stand in defense for the attack on others.
There is a growing allegation that Abiy Ahmed’s government is supported by and working for the Western World to break apart Ethiopian social and religious values. In February this year, Ethiopia’s religious council demanded Abiy Ahmed’s government withdrawal from the Samoa Agreement – which is understood in Ethiopia as a strategic move to promote sodomy in schools.