Ogaden community in Kenya keeps eye on upcoming Ethiopian May 2015 election

By Ahmed Abdi | January 31, 2015

Ahmed Sadik, Head of the Ogaden Refugee Council

Kenya-Ogaden Community in Kenya are doing all possible precautions as they keep on eye on the upcoming Ethiopia elections on 15 May,2015. 

 

Eng. Ahmed Sadik, Head of the Ogaden Refugee Council, has urged the communities and refugee leaders in Kenya to be precautious. 

 

“It is time the communities and refugee leadership to be vigilant and think carefully about who they see,” he said on Wednesday. 

 

Speaking with Radio Xoriyo also known as Radio Freedom, he said Ethiopia exports its domestic problems to the neighboring countries like Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia whenever it feels the burden. 

 

“For Ethiopia, it never be ashamed of attacking refugees mainly Ogaden, Anuak and Oromo community leaders that have fled from its army brutality as the case of the 2010 elections.” 

 

” For instance, when Ethiopian elections was happening in 2010, Ethiopian Security Forces attempted to kill activists, opposition figures and community leaders from Ogaden region, Oromia and Gambella,” Sadik said. 

 

Sadik added that EPRDF-dominated government will get elect itself and that nothing good expects to happen for the May 2015 election.

 

Sadik called on the government of Kenya to be aware activities of Ethiopian assailants and those conspiring with them to ensure that they would not harm any one without the knowledge of Kenya. 

 

The Ogaden community in Kenya numbers approximately 120,000, of whom 100,000 are registered with the UNHCR.

 

Ethiopian assailants occasionally kidnap or kill opposition members within Kenyan soil. 26 January 2014, Sulub Abdi Ahmed and Ali Ahmed Hussein  were abducted by Ethiopian Secret Agents. The two officials were in Kenya to facilitate peace talks with the Ethiopian government.

 

Human Rights Watch accused the Ethiopia’s government of systematically cracking down on media ahead of the May 2015 election. 

 

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn  asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to act as mediator with the ONLF taking advantage of  Erdogan’s visit to Ethiopia, according to Africa Intelligence. 

 

ONLF was founded in 1984, and it has been engaging army struggle with the Ethiopian troops stationed in Ogaden region since 1994, after the Ethiopian government cracked down its members, following after Ogaden parliament overwhelmingly voted yes for