This paper investigated the constitutional and practical protection of minorities, particularly thernZay in Oromia regional state protected in compliance with the FDRE constitution. For thisrnpurpose, secondary sources such as relevant legal literatures, books, laws, articles and journalsrnwere analyzed while structured and unstructured in-depth interviews with key informants,rnpersonal observation, and focus group discussions were the primary sources employed.rnIn the FDRE Constitution ethnic groups which are territorially defined have become the bearersrnof sovereign power and entitled to the right to self-determination. Oromia is one of the ninernstates though none of the regions are homogenous as there are dispersed internal ethnicrnminorities which either belongs to the majority nation in other region or double minority groupsrn(which are neither dominant at national level nor at regional level) which have got very littlernattention in the constitution of both levels. The Constitution of Oromia does not recognize thernexistence and the distinct identity of ethnic minority groups in this region though the 2007rnpopulation census indicates that there are almost all dispersed ethnic groups in this region.rnNumerically, each is below 1% except the Amhara people which constitute 7.2%.rnThe Zay are sparsely populated in the region no have absolute defined territorial boundary. Nornguaranteed representation for Zay ethnic minority in this region at any administrative level. Thernterritoriality principle left the Zay unrecognized as nation, nationality and people. However, thernZay have the right to non-territorial (personal) autonomy for representation, cultural andrnlinguistic rights in the region.