23-year-old woman brutally murdered in Bench Sheko Zone

Massalach Kashinte, a 23-year-old woman, was brutally murdered with a machete in the Bench Sheko Zone of Southwest Ethiopia. The incident occurred just two days before her graduation. The suspect, Fikadu Gishinar, had previously abducted her for forced marriage, but the case was closed after local elders mediated a settlement involving a payment. According to women's rights organizations, this mediation, which dropped the criminal charges against the abductor, emboldened him to harass the victim further and eventually commit the murder. The Bench Sheko Zone Justice Office has confirmed that the suspect is now in court facing trial.