(Awasa) The Hadicho people mostly living in Dara Woreda of Sidama zone are reportedly boycotting the Sidama referendum, according to residents who informed Awasa Guardian (AG). However, locals are still being forced toward voter registration and harassed by the Sidama ruling party and the Sidama Liberation Movement (SLM).
The Hadicho people, formerly led by Sidama Hadicho People’s Democratic Organization (SHPDO) party since 2000, had previously secured a separate Woreda status. Then, Before the Sidama statehood movement gained support from the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM), the Hadicho asked a zone separate from Sidama but were rejected, as Sidama nationalists took over the SEPDM.
The Hadicho make up the largest ethnic group in their Dara Woreda of southern Sidama zone. Activists told AG that a future Sidama regional state will hurt their hopes for autonomy and lead to conflict, similar to the Qimant case in Amhara state. They accuse the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) of supporting Sidama politicians and ignoring their boycott.
Similar controversy occurred when Sidama nationalists attempted to extend the referendum to Abela Abaya Woreda of Wolaita Zone. After Wolaita activists and human rights groups like the WCHR complained to the government, the NEBE told Sidama to suspend all referendum related activities in the disputed Woreda. However it is unknown if the authorities have accepted the NEBE’s directives as the entity led by Judge Bertukan Mideksa has been unable to stop other violations, including the tens of thousands of illegal identification cards handed out to Sidama in the capital Awasa.
Historically, the Hadicho people are descendants of the Hoffa, who were the indigenous and original people of the region before the Sidama conquered and annexed their land over a century ago. They gradually lost their identity and assimilated to the Sidama language, since their ancestral language became extinct. The Hadicho are thus sometimes nicknamed Hoffa, meaning inferior or low-class, among some older Sidama population.
