Amnesty International, the global rights defender, accused the Addis Ababa municipality led by Mayor Takele Uma, for “demolishing dozens of homes belonging to day labourers over the past three weeks”,making at least 1,000 people homeless amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most of those whose homes have been destroyed recently lost their jobs due to the ongoing COVID-19 shutdowns told Amnesty International that they are now also having sleepless nights as authorities repeatedly confiscate tarpaulin or plastic sheeting they are using to shelter against heavy rains. “Stranded families have told us harrowing stories of how their children are sleeping out in the open, exposed to the drenching rain and cold,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Director for East and Southern Africa.