Several people have been detained in Oromia regional state following a curfew the region introduced on November 12, 2021 and retracted six days later on November 18, 2021. The regional state administration introduced the curfew as part of the nationwide State of Emergency (SOE) passed to protect the nation’s sovereignty from internal and external elements.
The curfew imposed on people and vehicles last week was enacted to curb the movement of citizens and vehicles from 2:00 PM to 5:30 AM.
According to the regional Attorney General, Adugna Ahmed’s brief on November 18, 2021, several suspects have been arrested in the Oromia region since the SoE was declared and enforcement directives were enacted. However, she declined from mentioning the exact number of detainees.
“The arrests were made following the necessary instructions and suspects were being held under the requirements of the proclamation. However, it does not mean that there were no problems with the implementation,” said Adugna.
The regional office of the AG has formed committees to evaluate the cases of detainees, as conventional courts remain closed.
The Oromia regional government has issued an enforcement directive to arrest those who pose a threat to peace in the region.
“The directive was not issued to arrest a particular group or one party, it should be known as a directive to those hiding and known to be a threat to peace in the region and it applies to all parties,” she added.
Security forces, militias, and police have been implementing the SoE and its supplementary directives, transparently, according to Adugna.
On the other hand, following an assessment of the implementation of the SoE, the Office of the AG has temporarily lifted the curfew imposed on people and vehicles.
The curfew was lifted after an assessment indicted that the curfew was affecting the economic and logistics activities of the community.
According to Adugna, since the region is a trade corridor, including the Ethio-Djibouti trade route, it has been decided that vehicles coming from different parts of the country as well as vehicles coming out of the region will also have a wide range of activities and should not be interrupted by the curfew.
