On **December 1, 2021**, a rainy Wednesday, the respected elder (Abbaa Gadaa) Michillee from Dullachaa had performed his morning prayers. After sharing coffee with neighbors, blessing each other and their country, he tended to his livestock in the pasture and returned home at nightfall to rest.

The livestock later wandered back toward the pasture, and he followed them with a calm heart. The area where he and his neighbors lived was known as a place of peace—a land of Gadaa, free from political strife. They never imagined that government soldiers would come to their peaceful land and bring such devastation. They believed any threat would come from the known direction of Am**ra Fanno, in Qorke and Gorora, who were constantly encroaching on land. The Gadaa community had been vigilant day and night against this known threat.

But the unforeseen struck. A combined force of government militia, the special Oromia force, and federal police arrived at the Gadaa community’s land. They did not just come; they came with clear intent to humiliate. They attempted to insult the Gadaa elder, but an elder of Gadaa, a person of dignity and protocol who embodies the leadership of a nation, cannot be humiliated. She holds her own council and cannot be forced to abandon her principles. If she refuses, she stands her ground.

This force, however, discarded all decency. They insulted the Gadaa elder. In response, the community’s leadership—the *Korma Garaa Hidhee*, Gadaa members, and local elders—gathered. They displayed the Gadaa flag, proclaimed the law of their land, and forbade any disrespect.

The soldiers retorted, “Stop, or we will be forced to act!” As the community members prepared to defend themselves, the elders intervened, declaring, “If conflict erupts here, children and women will not be spared. The blood of our children and women will be spilled on this land. Let what is destined for us happen.”

Hearing this, the community laid down their weapons. The government forces then swept in, looted all household property, and rounded up every man and woman from the area. They were marched about a kilometer away, where the women were separated. The men—including the Abbaa Bokkuu, the *Korma Garaa Hidhee*, the Qaalluu, and Gadaa elders—were specifically taken to a place called *Dhakaa Nyaaqoo*.

There, they were forced face down on the ground, their hands tied behind their backs, and viciously beaten. Others were similarly assaulted, then forced into vehicles and taken away.

A second group, including the Abbaa Bokkuu and the elders, was taken to a place called *Dhakaa Cabbii Aanolee*. Again, they were forced to the ground, hands bound, and subjected to a severe beating. After this torture, as they lay broken, the elder Michillee uttered a final, gasping cry: “Yaabboo! Since you are killing us without cause, if you have weapons, shoot us. Finish us.”

A large convoy of vehicles and commanders was present. Authorities in the East Shewa zone and the local administrators were alerted and informed. None of these officials intervened to stop the massacre; their only role was to authorize it.

Finally, 16 individuals were selected for execution. As the killers prepared their weapons, the condemned Gadaa leaders made a final request: “The hour of our death has come. Give us what you owe us for our blood.” They demanded the *kiisaa* (blood money) owed to them. Their executioners collected money from their own pockets, paid it to the victims, and then carried out the execution.

These Gadaa fathers were taken to a place no person should go and massacred. Their families and nation do not know where they died or where their remains lie. When people later went to retrieve the bodies for burial, soldiers guarding the area attacked them. In the end, when they finally reached the site, their remains were gone—scattered or consumed by wild animals. And so, the elder Michillee and the Gadaa system of Oromoo were extinguished together, plunged into a single, dark abyss.

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In memory of the Gadaa Fathers of Karrayyu – December 1, 2025