Murder and disappearance in Bahr Dar

This is a story about the murder of Ato Yihenew Hunegnaw and the disappearance of six of his friends in the City of Bahr Dar.

Yihenew was a student at St. Mary College in Bahr Dar. He also attended Pedagogic College previously. He was looking forward to graduating with a degree in management and supporting himself and his extended family. Yihenew was a conscientious young man who cared about the people around him and the community

On June 4, students at Bahr Dar schools were deciding to join the protest that was planned by Addis Ababa University. Later in the afternoon, Yihenew and six of his friends sat at a hotel and engaged in a long conversation. Across the street, a pick up truck with some individuals inside was parked. According to eyewitnesses, the truck looked similar to other pick up trucks that EPRDF cadres normally drive.

After the sun set, the unidentified individuals from the pick up truck approached Yihenew and his friends. Some exchange of words took place. The individuals then led Yihenew and friends to the truck and drove off.

Around 1 AM (local time) Yihenew called home to tell his family that he will not be home until later on. Arguments can be heard in the background.

Just before dawn, security guards who were guarding construction equipments at a road construction site hear gun shots nearby. At dawn, the guards went towards the direction where they heard shots. After some search of the area, they found Yihenew’s body at the side of a road. It seems that Yihenew was shot as he tried to escape.

The guards called the police, who came and took pictures. They also video taped Yihenew’s body. Since Yihenew’s identity cards are taken by his captors, the police could not identify him and notify his family.

Fifteen days later, words reached Yihenew’s family that construction site security guards at the outskirt of the city had found a dead person who fits Yihenew’s profile. There may also be some who saw the actual shooting.

With this information, the family went to the police. Some time later, the police were able to confirm Yihenew’s death to the family. The police also showed the family the pictures they took, which indicate that Yihenew died of gun shot wounds.

The police are not willing to discuss or give any information about Yihenew’s friends. But when asked to take Yihenew’s body, the police told the family that he is buried with other people, and cannot identify which one is his body.

ER spoke with Yihenew’s sisters who reside in Arlington, Virginia. They are, of course, devastated by their brother’s death.

Hearing the news of Yihenew’s death and the disappearance of his friends, several families in Bahr Dar whose sons have also disappeared are now expecting the worse. The news reaching ER is that there are several young men in Bahr Dar who have disappeared without a trace. Many of these young men are from poor families who do not have the means to search the whereabouts of their missing sons, except to just agonize and wait for them to come back some day. Yihenew would also have disappeared without a trace had he not tried to escape and his body found by a construction site security guards.

How many times such terrible incidents are repeated through out the country? What’s the justification for the police to burry bodies of a bunch of young people in a mass grave without any serious attempt to find out their identities and notify their families?!?

While talking with different people in the course of reporting on Yihenew’s case, one story that keeps coming is about individuals with pick up trucks. We are told about similar cases where unknown individuals with government issued trucks approach young men and take them away, never to be seen again.