A year has passed since we lost one of Oromia’s brightest sons, Jaal Battee Urgeessaa—an icon of peaceful resistance, a visionary political leader, and a man whose gentle strength made him both beloved and formidable. His assassination on this day, on the Ramadan festive day last year, was not only a devastating loss to his family and the Oromo people but a calculated act of cruelty by a regime determined to extinguish voices of hope and justice.
Jaal Battee was not merely a political figure—he embodied the values of compassion, dignity, and wisdom. He was a man of dialogue, of immense patience and unshakeable commitment to the ideals of freedom and equality. Through his work with the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), he became a beacon of nonviolent resistance and a symbol of what Oromo leadership could be: principled, visionary, and accountable.
Yet, for that very reason, he was targeted. Silenced. Not for any crime, but for daring to dream—and articulate—a future in which Oromos could live in dignity on their own land, under their own banner, in peace.
The regime’s attempt to bury the news of his killing beneath a festive atmosphere failed. The light Battee carried was too bright, his character too impactful, and his death too unjust to be forgotten. The people of Oromia remember him—not just in sorrow, but in defiance. Because his legacy is not one of victimhood, but of unbreakable courage.
In the year since his passing, silence has echoed from official halls of power—no justice, no investigation, not even the courtesy of a lie with effort. This indifference is not new. It echoes the regime’s long and bloody history—from the imperial crowns to military juntas to modern autocrats—of erasing Oromo voices through assassination, imprisonment, and cultural suppression.
Jaal Battee now joins a tragic pantheon of the recent past: Hacaaluu Hundessa, Dadhii Galaan, the 14 Abbaa Gadaa elders, Abduljabbar Hussein, and countless unnamed others whose lives were cut short for daring to speak for the silenced—or simply for embodying the enduring spirit of Oromo traditional self-governance.
The Koree Nageenyaa death squad, now exposed through brave journalism and Oromo resilience, is the modern face of this age-old strategy. Its task is clear: break the Oromo spirit by targeting its heart—its leaders, artists, elders, and advocates.
But they misunderstand the Oromo soul.
You can kill a man, but not his memory. You can bury a leader, but not his vision.
As we mark this painful anniversary, we ask: how many more Battees must we lose before the world takes notice? How long will Oromo blood be spilled before the global community breaks its silence?
To the family of Jaal Battee—his beloved spouse and five children, including the youngest who entered this world in the shadow of tragedy and will never know his father’s embrace—we extend not only our deepest condolences, but our enduring commitment to honor his legacy.
To Jaal Battee himself—we say: rest in power. Your life was a gift to your people. Your voice still echoes in the hills of Wallaga, in the plains of Borana and Gujii, in the highlands of Hararghe and Arsii, in the valleys of Wallo, and in every Oromo heart that dares to hope.
You may have fallen, but your cause stands taller than ever. You live on—in memory, in spirit, and in the unstoppable struggle for Oromo dignity and independence. You’ll for ever be in our hearts.
