Murder of Heaven Awot

Murder of Heaven Awot

Date	August 2023
Location	Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Type	Rape Mutilation Murder
Deaths	Heaven Awot
Convicted	Getnet Baye
Sentence	Getnet Baye sentenced to 25 years in prison The case adjourned until October 2024

Heaven Awot, a seven-year-old girl was brutally raped, mutilated and killed by her mother's landlord Getnet Baye in Bahir Dar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia in August 2023. Getnet was sentenced to 25 years life in prison. The murder has heavily sparked public outrage, who demand appropriate punishment for the assailant, and circulated in social media. Getnet appealed to the court and the case adjourned until October 2024.

Several women's and children right organizations voiced condemnation for the murder. Among those, the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) said the "murder by itself should have been enough to sentence him to life imprisonment or to death…". The Minister for Women and Social Affairs Ergoge Tesfaye also condemned the murder by saying "inhumane" in her Facebook page.

Background

Heaven Awot was a seven-year-old girl whose family is from Bahir Dar in Amhara Region. The family experienced a breakup during the conflict in Tigray. Heaven's father is an ethnic Tigrayan, who during the war, was imprisoned for months. After being released from prison, he left Amhara Region to Tigray, who discerned that he would raise suspicion in the region during ethnic profiling against Tigrayans. Heaven's mother, Abekyelesh Adeba, was a nurse who raised her and her young sister in a tenancy with landlord Getnet Baye. Abekyelesh told to the BBC that she had never felt any threat to her daughter. She was related to the landlord's wife which made her feel even more at ease. During the onset of the murder in August 2023, Abekyelesh was at work and the girl's aunt, a guardian, who was informed by Heaven that she was going to the bathroom and did not return.

Suspicious by her awaiting, the aunt went to look the girl but didn't find her, believing Getnet took the girl away. Later that a day, she found Heaven's body at the entrance of her home, while her body was strangled and mutilated, dumped with sand stuffed in her mouth. After hearing the news, Abekyelesh had to go hiding away from Getnet, fearing for her younger daughter and her own safety. Getnet was escaped from custody during prison escape operation carried out by Fano militia during the War in Amhara. That month, Getnet was looking for Abekyelesh with gun. She claimed that the law enforcement in Bahir Dar was unwilling to detain him, and pleaded to arrest him. As a result, she frequently moved homes and jobs repeatedly in the year since.

Aftermath and reactions

The case was not revealed until the next year, sparking widespread public outrage in Ethiopia with many said the preparator sentence decision is too "merciful". More than 200,000 people signed a petition demanding appropriate justice for his crime. Getnet was apprehended and sentenced to 25 years life in prison. Following his sentence, Getnet appealed to the court, which override the case to be adjourned until October. Her mother, Abekyelesh Adeba told to the BBC that she felt "lifeless" after hearing her death.

Heaven's death also created great outrage among women's and children rights groups. The Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) released a statement believing the "murder by itself should have been enough to sentence him to life imprisonment or to death…". Similarly, the Minister for Women and Social Affairs Ergoge Tesfaye condemned the murder as "inhumane" on her Facebook page and said the office would investigate the case with stakeholders.