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By Anyuak Media
Posted to the web on May 18, 2010 |
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May 18, 2010 (GAMBELLA) — No one had imagined that an innocent government official could die in mysterious circumstances on the way to his home. The death of Ochudho Odola, a MA graduate in Economic Policy and Analysis from University of Addis Ababa shocked many in both Gambella region and in Diaspora. He was beaten to death yesterday night on May 17, 2010. These unprecedented attacks, disappearances and death among the Anywaa people have increased in the past few months and there has been very limited effort to bring their attackers to justice. The killers of Ochudho Odola remain at large but investigations underway to find his killers. Ochudho Odola was buried today on May 18, 2010.
On unrelated development, ten people are reported to have died of a giant crocodile and snakes attacks in Gambella region. On April 27, 2010, young man from ethnic group locally known as Gala (Buny) (“highlanders”) died of crocodile attack while bathing in Openo (“Baro”) River. In similar circumstances, two members of Nuer ethnic group died of crocodile attacks. The ordeal of crocodile attack was far from over until another young boy from group locally known as Gala (Buny) (“highlanders”) found dead in the jaws of giant crocodile. The young man went missing and his disappearance would have put pressure on the indigenous Anywaa people suspected of any disappearance of Gala (Buny) (“highlanders”).
On another development, snakes attacked and killed seven members of Nuer community at Ichwai (Opuomoro) village. The unexplainable attack on one community was believed a curse of indigenous local people not happy of Nuer community invasion of Igilo land. In an attempt to bring to an end snakes attack, the local authorities dispatched a bulldozer to demolish snakes hideout. However, the attempt could not succeed as another member of Nuer community died in Gambella hospital due to continued snakes attack even though local authorities had demolished snakes’ hideout.
It was not clear though whether the beating of young Anywaa man in front of army barracks in Gambella town on May 14, 2010 has to do with unrelated attacks on two different communities. According to our source, the locally known as Gala (“highlander”) group provoked a fight and the army joined in to attack the Anywaa man in front of huge public crowd who were shocked and could not intervene to control the situation. Only the member of Nuer community could express their disappointment with barbaric treatment of their fellow Nilots in their own homeland.
These signals of arbitrary attack, intemidations and harassment remind many people of pre-December 13, 2003 Ethiopian government genocide campaign against Anywaa indigenous people. The Anywaa are targets of all forms of government mistreatment policies without limit. At the heart of all these forms of discrimination are the violations of state and federal constitutions that place responsibility of law and order in the hand of state police and federal police rather than defense forces whose duty is to intervene in national security matters only.
It is not known why the loss of numerous of lives as results of human and natural calamities could not surface in Ethiopian news outlets.
This is a wakeup call to all Anywaa community to open up their eyes before all of them eliminated from their land systematically.
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