There is widespread anger in Ethiopia following the 25-year prison sentence handed to a landlord convicted of the brutal rape and murder of his tenant’s seven-year-old daughter.
In August 2023, Heaven Awot was abducted from her home, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and killed by her mother’s landlord, Getnet Baye, in the northwestern city of Bahir Dar. Baye’s sentencing to just 25 years in prison has sparked significant public outcry, particularly after he recently appealed the case. The appeal is scheduled to be reviewed in October, according to BBC.
The case has prompted widespread condemnation and demands for justice. Over 200,000 people have signed an online petition calling for a reassessment of the sentencing to “reflect the gravity of the crime” and to support Heaven’s mother, Abekyelesh Adeba.
The Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) has criticized the sentencing as “very light,” asserting that “the murder by itself should have been enough to sentence him to life imprisonment or to death.” They added that it is “specially sickening and outrageous when such a horrendous crime is committed against children.”
Senior government officials, including Minister for Women and Social Affairs Ergogie Tesfaye, have also condemned the sentence, describing the crimes against Heaven as “inhumane.”
During an interview with BBC, Heaven’s mother expressed her despair: “If our children can’t be safe in our homes, where else can we go? Should we stop work and spend all our time with them? How can we feed them?”
