On Friday, Ethiopian authorities said they had arrested two suspects over the killing of Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, a popular musician belonging to the majority Oromo ethnic group.
The Oromo musician was shot dead last week sparking protests in Addis Ababa and the surrounding Oromiya region.
The protests resulted in the death of 166 people under government-sanctioned internet blackouts.
Ethiopian Attorney General, Adanech Abebe, stated that the shooter was working on commands of an anti-government group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF-Shene).
Adanech further stated that the two arrests included the suspected shooter and an accomplice, while the third suspect was still to be caught.
The nationwide protests had led to government-sanctioned internet blackouts disconnecting Ethiopia’s population of 102 million from the world.
Ethiopia’s current Prime Minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and an Oromo himself, Abiy Ahmed described Haacaaluu Hundeessaa’s killing as “an evil act”.
Although the Prime Minister introduced a broad package of political and economic reforms the unrest last week was the deadliest since he took office.
Few Oromo figures say the Prime Minister has not done enough to work on the Oromo ethnic community’s grievances; longstanding exclusion from political power and decades of government repression.