In 2003 the opposition All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) attempted to open a branch office in Bibugn. On 7 February, AEUP informed woreda officials of its plan and provided them a list of names of AEUP organizers, as requested. After receiving the list, woreda officials announced over a megaphone that people should neither associate with AEUP nor rent a house to AEUP members for its branch office. On 10 November of the same year, local kebele officials and militia set the home of an AEUP member on fire while he was asleep with his wife and child. While they were able to escape, they lost their house, livestock, and food.