Residents of Ambo, a city in the West Shewa Zone of Oromia Regional State, have told the independent outlet Addis Standard they are "living in fear" amid what they describe as "a pattern of violence, intimidation, and impunity" carried out by an organized group known locally as "120." The reports emerged alongside a series of social-media posts by the Oromo political figure Jawar Mohammed, beginning on April 13, that named specific individuals alleged to be part of the group and published videos depicting assaults. The Ambo City Communications Bureau has called the circulating reports part of a "defamation campaign" against the city's administration and said on April 15 that one individual, Kasaayee Qananiisaa, had been apprehended.
The story emerged publicly through an April 13 Facebook post by Jawar Mohammed, founder of the Oromia Media Network and a central political figure of the 2014–2018 Oromo protest movement who has been a consistent critic of the current Oromia regional administration. In his post, published in Afaan Oromoo, Jawar alleged that an organized group known in Ambo as "120" had been "organized by the government" and was operating in the city with official protection. He described the group as extorting traders during the day, raiding homes at night, and publicly beating residents who refused to pay or who spoke about being victimized. He identified Kasaayee Qananiisaa as the group's most publicly identifiable figure, published photographs of him, and attached video of what he said showed Kasaayee leading an attack.
The video Jawar attached to his initial post shows an assault near a yellow industrial power generator in what appears to be a commercial area of Ambo. The footage begins with Kasaayee Qananiisaa — identifiable by a brown hoodie and white baseball cap — in conversation with a seated man in a dark blue blazer. After roughly eighteen seconds, Kasaayee grabs the seated man by his clothing, drags him outside, and throws him to the ground near a small tree on the sidewalk. He then kicks the man repeatedly as the man curls inward to shield himself. Several other men approach and stand in proximity as the assault continues; none intervene. The victim can be heard pleading with the attacker to stop. Pedestrians and vehicles are visible in the street. The video is circulated with a still headshot of Kasaayee inset in the bottom-right corner, identifying the aggressor.
In the days that followed, Jawar published additional posts naming further individuals alleged to be involved in the group or its protection, sharing additional photographs, soliciting testimony from Ambo residents who contacted him directly, and publishing further footage. He identified a man named Haacaaluu Gammachuu as the mayor of Ambo and a man named Baay'isaa Huseen as head of the Ambo City Administration and Security Bureau, and alleged that both had used their positions to shield the group from accountability. He published a photograph, which The Abay Times has not independently authenticated, of a man he identified as Diinaa'ol Qaabataa — described as a member of the "120" network and a close associate of the mayor — embracing Oromia Regional State President Shimelis Abdisa. He identified a ward cabinet member and chair of the West Shewa Youth Federation named Mangee Teferi as as an associate of the group and as the person who had been found with the footage. Neither the Oromia Regional State administration nor any of the named individuals have publicly addressed Jawar's specific allegations or the photograph of the president. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has also not commented publicly on the Ambo reports. Jawar has said he is publishing similar allegations about organised groups in Shashamene, Nekemte, Burayu, and Guji Zone; those are not covered in this piece.
A separate video, which Jawar said was recovered from the possession of a person arrested in connection with the group, runs more than three minutes and shows Kasaayee assaulting three men in sequence inside an earth-walled enclosure with a straw-covered floor. The footage opens with Kasaayee standing in conversation with the first victim, a man in a grey long-sleeved shirt, while two other men stand nearby observing. Kasaayee is pressing the man about an unclear matter and it escalates with Kasaayee striking him in the face. The blow drops him to the ground. Kasaayee then holds him by the head and delivers repeated strikes, stomps, and a knee to the face while the man curls against the wall to shield himself. The man pleads that he is a laborer with no role in the matter and asks to be left alone. The person operating the camera can be heard urging Kasaayee to continue. Kasaayee then strikes the second man — the one in the grey hoodie who had been near the camera — and the blow sends him to the ground, where further strikes follow. He then turns to a third man, who had been holding a plastic bag and watching the earlier assault, and strikes him across the upper body. By the middle of the clip the three men are seated in a row against the back wall, heads lowered. Kasaayee paces in front of them for the remainder of the footage, intermittently striking them and delivering a sustained verbal monologue that the victims receive in silence.
The Ambo City Communications Bureau responded to the circulating posts and videos on April 14 and April 15. In its April 14 statement, the bureau said that "crimes committed by individuals do not represent the government" and described the reports circulating on social media as part of a "defamation campaign" aimed at undermining the city's administration. It characterized a video in which Kasaayee is seen violently attacking another person as depicting "personal disputes between individuals" and said authorities had taken legal action against four suspects and were pursuing others. In its April 15 statement, the bureau said Kasaayee had been apprehended following security operations and public tip-offs and called on residents to stand with the city administration in maintaining security. The statement did not address Jawar's specific allegations about the group's institutional protection, did not respond to the photograph of Shimelis Abdisa, and did not name the four suspects reportedly in custody.
