Published on 11-Jul-2020
Khushboo Razdan
"Do not wait for help to come from outside… rise, prepare your horses and fight, you are the one close to the palace," Ethiopian pop star Hachalu Hundessa, who was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Addis Ababa on June 25, sang these lines in 2017 to his Oromo fan base, who historically picture themselves as brave warriors and horsemen.
The murder was followed by week-long violent clashes between his angry supporters and federal forces across Oromia region state and other Ethiopian cities, leaving over 200 dead and 3,000 arrested including prominent opposition leader and media mogul Jawar Mohammed, who coined the term "Oromo first" in 2013.
Hachalu Hundessa – 'political musician' who sang his mind
Thirty-four-year-old Hundessa, who's survived by his wife and two daughters, came from a "very politically vital state of Oromia," according to Dr. Awol Allo,senior lecturer at UK's Keele University and specialist in Horn of Africa affairs.
"He was somebody who grew up singing while looking after cattle. But after he started school, particularly high school, he became politicized. He joined different clubs, which usually allow a distant kind of social space to students to organize and have conversation about politically important issues. He started singing at those clubs," Allo told CGTN Digital.