Amid increasing anger, the protests in Shakiso and Adola areas of Oromia region in south-eastern Ethiopia are growing, demanding the cancellation of gold mining license owned by Ethiopian- Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi. A general strike and widespread protests paralyzed Shakiso and Adola towns on Tuesday and Wednesday, and villagers cut on Wednesday morning electric and water supply to the mine, halting production at Legadembi, according to reports. Midroc in statement confirmed it has indeed happened, condemning as a hate-filled and senseless act. “A group that calls itself Guji Kero has been distributing flyers to all villagers, warning that Midrock should stop its production until May 8 or face harsh measures. The group then cut of electric supply by destroying the utility pole that carries the power lines to the mining site. Such attack shouldn’t be regarded only as an attack on Midroc but one that is directed on all investment activities in the country. This is a sad situation to happen in a country like ours and shows how low we have got,” it reads.
The just appointed Minister of Defence and the former Minister of Mines, Motuma Mekassa was sent to the area on Monday to have face-to-face talks with residents. Despite his appeal for calm, the Minister has not proposed any tangible solution, angering the residents. Security forces have used live bullets to disperse demonstrations, killing five people protesters yesterday and today.Those killed are named Amanuel Amare, Tigist, Tesema Alambo, Ayenew Gobeze and Guta Dadhi. On May 7, at least one person was fatally injured when demonstrators marched to the local police station to demand the release of detained compatriots, witnesses told VOA. At another protest in the afternoon, residents said police had used tear gas on protesters, some of whom blindly stumbled into the ditch. Police retrieved them and took them inside the station, noting that Red Cross workers who had shown up with stretchers initially were not allowed access. On May 9, Guta was driving on his way to Adola town to collect his sister who gave birth at hospital at seven in the morning when soldiers fired on the front and back of his car and shot him. He died after he was transported to hospital, according to a witness who talked to the VOA. Seven people were injured and some of them transported to Adola and Hawassa hospitals, according to reports on the VOA and BBC Amharic. Twenty people have also been arrested. The town of Adola, 550kms south of Addis Ababa, has particularly been rocked by violence since yesterday after residents’ protests following the killing of a young man at the hands of security. It has emerged that Chala Ware, Deputy Mayor of Adola town, has been arrested for talking to media about the situation and the ongoing protest. The community alleges they were not given a chance to explain their grievances and were instead, greeted with a hail of live ammunition.
The Legadembi gold mine is located about 10km southwest of the town of Shakiso, which is also known as Adola gold seam.