Bate Urgessa (1982/1983 – 10 April 2024) was an Ethiopian politician who was
Oromo Liberation Front
The Oromo Liberation Front ( om, Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, abbreviated: ABO; English abbreviation: OLF) is an Oromo nationalist political party formed in 1973 to promote self-determination for the Oromo people inhabiting today's Oromia Region and ...
(OLF) opposition leader and critic of the incumbent
Abiy Ahmed government. He has been jailed on several occasions.
He was assassinated by gunshot in
Meki,
Oromia Region on 10 April 2024.
Death
Urgessa was shot dead in
Meki,
East Shewa Zone in
Oromia Region on 10 April 2024. His death met with public outrage on social media. Family members told ''
Addis Standard'', people who "looked like government security forces" took him from his hotel room on Tuesday night. The Oromia government denied its alleged involvement in his assassination. The OLF condemned his assassination as "brutal murder" and said he was "eloquent, brave and selfless Oromo soul". The
Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Chief Commissioner
Daniel Bekele
Daniel Bekele (Amharic: ዳንኤል በቀለ; 17 February 1967) is an Ethiopian lawyer and human rights activist. He was detained from November 2005 to March 2008 for his complaints about the procedures of the 2005 Ethiopian general election. ...
stated on Twitter that the federal authorities need "to hold perpetrators to account". Phone lines were cut off in the town.
In Oromia, police arrested 13 suspects over the murder. The United States, United Kingdom and European Union called for open investigation of the assassination.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urgessa, Bate
2024 deaths
2024 murders in Ethiopia
Politicians assassinated in 2024
Oromo people
People killed in the Ethiopian civil conflict (2018–present)
Assassinated Ethiopian politicians
Year of birth missing
Date of birth missing
1980s births
21st-century Ethiopian politicians
Oromo Liberation Front politicians
April 2024 events in Ethiopia
Deaths by firearm in Ethiopia