• Thousands of people have been internally displaced as part of the region’s crackdown on homes that authorities say are illegal

The town of Legetafo, located in the Oromia regional state adjacent to the north-eastern suburbs of Addis Ababa, has seen great changes in the past few decades. Many areas of the town are seeing tremendous boom in construction, as the town has become a favourite area with home developers, tenants and renters for its available land, temperate zone and proximity to the capital. Private real estate developments such as Ropack International has developed housing for middle and higher-class income groups. There are also many low-income families who have bought tract of lands from peasants and built residential units in this thriving town.

One of them, Desta Melku, a father of two, has been living in a four-roomed house that he constructed with his wife in the middle of the borough, which was once a farmland called Aba Libanos, six years ago. “My wife and I decided to buy the property and build the dwelling in the hopes and plans for our children’s future. We were paying higher rents in the centre of the capital, we had no choice but buy and build without permit,” he says. “Getting the land in the legal ways was next to impossible for us. We didn’t have the means. It was fairly common to buy land in the area and no one stopped us. There are some who have lived for the fifteen years, for ten years,” he said.

“We have been paying taxes from the very start. We were recognized as residents by the Kebele (the lowest tier of administration in the country’s state structure) and given house identification numbers. We were provided with running water and electricity services by the municipality,” Desta told Ethiopia Observer.

Desta said that authorities handed them demolition orders a week ago, with a warning to tear down their houses and leave. “If they don’t, they would be asked to pay for the cost of demolition task force,” the note reads. On Thursday early afternoon, February 21, while he was at work, Desta received a call from his panicked wife who broke the sad news to him. When he arrived home quickly, neighbours and other members of community were gathered around the area, shouting at the workers, who were reducing the houses to rubble by bulldozers. There were also armed security officers around, making sure families move their possessions. He approached, saw a heap of metal and the frame of the roof laying on the ground where their house once stood. “I could not believe it. They knocked down our house that we built with many years of economy. I can see that there is no compassion whatsoever. This is happening with the administration of Dr. Abiy. My two kids were at school.” When they returned from school, they had to take them to acquaintances house, he says.

The programme of forced eviction and the demolition of more than 900 homes and informal businesses have left thousands homeless. Most of the residents say that they were issued with warnings asking them to evacuate only a week before and did not have anywhere else to go, only to be surprised with demolitions. Those who could afford to find new houses moved but rest left at the mercy of their neighbours, stranded out in the cold and others in temporary tents. Many witnesses say they were shocked by the brutality of the scenes.

The Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman (EIO) released a statement saying that the demolition exercise has left children, elderly, and diabetics in dire situation, precipitating humanitarian crisis. EIO express concern of violations of human rights and governance shortcomings and the lack of assistance.

Such measures, many felt, have left a black cloud over the Oromia region and threated to dent the Abiy Ahmed administration that has been enjoying a positive press coverage for the past several months for its promise of reform and respect for human rights.

What lies behind the Legetafo demolitions?

The Oromia region justified its decision to raze the houses on the grounds that they did not receive proper building permits, making them an “illegal building.” Head of Oromia Land Use and Administration, Milkessa Midega said in a press conference that buying plot of land from peasants by itself is illegal, adding that the latest move is part of wider regional decision to enforce the rule of law. He said similar measures have been taken in other towns such as Shashemene, 250kms south of Addis Ababa and Metu, 357 km West of Addis Ababa. He argued the measures are in accordance with the lease proclamation 721 and intended to create a proper lease system. “The Oromia region, compared to other regions have not been forthcoming in applying the rules and combatting illegal housing. Other regions, such as Tigray and Amhara regions have taken leads in this regards,” he said.

In Legetafo, particularly, the houses have been built along the canyons, rivers and green areas, Milkessa says. In some cases, houses were built in lands already designated for developmental work after having paid compensations, he added. So bringing the illegal occupations into compliance is necessary and a task that would be applied in many parts of the region, he said.

The Oromia region also says officials and architects who have been involved in allocating and selling illegally-occupied land have been sent to prison for their roles in the scandal, but there has not been any decision on what to do about the houses, which have no legal status. Many commentators denounced the demolition as “inhuman,” and “one that doesn’t take into account the local context. “If even the houses have to be demolished, the tenants should have been compensated for all their expenses and provided with alternative shelter,” a government employee said.

The Legetafo case is not by any means an isolated case, forced displacement of low-income households has been going one at least since 2004 in Addis Ababa and its environ. The State of Addis Ababa 2017 Report, published by UN- Habitat, indicates that rapid urbanization and unprecedented population over the past decade have created enormous pressure on Addis Ababa’s capacity to provide affordable housing and access to basic service for the citizenry, especially for the low-income households. “The gap between demand and supply of land and housing is growing day by day and has led to the growth of informal land transactions and to an alarming proliferation of squatter and unplanned settlements,” it reads.

Many people buy illegal properties and build house on the hope that the government in the meantime would give them legal recognition and house titles. Some residents in Adama town of Peacock area have been campaigning to win the region’s recognition of homes, illegally built and bought from peasants who used to cultivate Teff and other cereals. Lomi Balcha who has lived in the area for more than twenty years after having bought piece of land and built a modest house told Ethiopia Observer the request for approval of housing units have gained positive response, after local authorities made sure that the houses do not trespass the principal road planned to be constructed. But even there, there has been a rounds of evictions two years ago, she says.

Most residents themselves agree with the process for expediting construction in an orderly fashion but complain about the high levels of corruption in the land administration and the absence of strong institutions, transparency, clear policies that has created housing crisis for many years. Hence, many say, it is the situation that force them resort to illegal means. “Evidence suggest that the government’s inability to deliver formal land and housing in a timely manner and in sufficient quantities has significantly contributed to the proliferations of informal housing in Addis Ababa,” the State of Addis Ababa 2017 Report, indicated.

Main Image: Martha T.

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