|
 Haacaaluu sang in the Oromo
language of Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, but
his lyrics - about yearning for freedom and
exhorting Ethiopians to solve their own problems
- touched a chord more broadly.
His first album was released in 2009, after he
had served five years in prison, where he wrote
most of his songs, according to a profile in O
Pride, an Oromo magazine.
His second album two years later was a hit on
Amazon, but it was his single "Maalan Jira?"
(What fate is mine?), released just before a
wave of government-backed evictions began around
the capital in 2015, that became a rallying cry.
The song has been viewed more than 3 million
times on YouTube.
As the government wavered, in 2017 he released "Jirra",
a defiant cry meaning "We Are Here" - that has
become a greeting among Oromo youth. That
December, he sung at a star-studded concert in
the capital to raise money for displaced Oromo
families.
"Over the course of the Oromo protests between
2015 and 2018, it's impossible to really think
of anyone who played such an important role in
terms of galvanizing young people to come out to
the streets and protest," said Awol Allo, senior
lecturer of law at Keele University in England.
"Today's ruling party and the prime minister
would not have come to power if it were not for
the immense contribution that Haacaaluu made to
the Oromo protest movement."
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 Over the next two years, the
protests spread far beyond the Oromiya region,
meeting a bloody response from security forces.
Around 30,000 people were jailed, including
activists, writers and opposition leaders.
Eventually the prime minister resigned in
February 2018 - unprecedented in Ethiopian
history. Abiy Ahmed, whose father is Oromo, was
appointed prime minister instead.
Abiy released the political prisoners, unbanned
many political parties and promised free and
fair elections. But some Oromo say they are
still suffering government persecution - part of
the region is under federal military control.
"I did not know how to write lyrics and melodies
until I was put behind bars," he told the
British Broadcasting Corporation in 2017. "Music
is my life. It got me friends and foes. But it
remains a tool that I use to speak for my
people."
Haacaaluu was shot dead in Addis Ababa on Monday
by unknown gunmen and buried on Thursday at a
church in Ambo, his home town about 100 km (60
miles) west of the capital.
(Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by
Alexandra Hudson)
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