Campaore sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for the murder of Thomas Sankara

A Burkina Faso military court has sentenced former Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré to life in prison for his role in the assassination of pan-African leader Thomas Sankara, nearly three decades after the fact.

Blaise Compaoré, Sankara's successor and former friend, has been in exile in Côte d’Ivoire for several years and was thus tried and convicted in absentia. Some of Compaore lieutenants were also convicted. Hyacinthe Kafando, the man who led the commando group that executed Sankara, who is on the run, and Gilbert Diendéré, one of the army leaders in the 1987 putsch, were also sentenced to life imprisonment by the military court.

Three people were acquitted, and eight other defendants received sentences ranging from three to twenty years in jail.

At the age of 37, Thomas Sankara was gunned down with 12 others in 1987 during a meeting. Blaise Compaoré then ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years, until 2014.

Sankara, nicknamed “Africa’s Che Guevara”, seized power with his friend Compaoré and other army captains in a coup in 1983. Regarded as a role model by African revolutionaries, Sankara ushered in sweeping reforms in an attempt to reduce poverty in the country. Among other things, he implemented nationalisations, mass social housing and a ban on female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriage. He also renamed the country from Upper Volta to “Land of Incorruptible People”, which became “Burkina Faso” in the local Mòoré language.

Yet his radical reforms and his anti-imperialist stand irked western powers and his west African counterparts, which weakened him politically until the fatal meeting of 15 October 1987.

As for Blaise Compaoré, he has been living in Côte d'Ivoire since his fall in 2014, where his friend and Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara protects him, even granting him Ivorian nationality. The former president, and now convict, spends his time between his luxurious residences in Cocody-Ambassades and the seaside town of Assinie, and his repatriation to Burkina Faso to serve his sentence is unlikely.

Thomas Sankara's widow said she was satisfied with the verdict of the military tribunal, although she had hoped for the presence of Compaoré and Kafando.

Sources: CommonSpace.eu with Le Monde (Paris), RFI (Paris), DW News (Bonn) and other media outlets
Picture: A graffiti commemorating former Burkinabe leader Thomas Sankara; Twitter: @FELASTORY
 
 

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell tells the European Parliament that the situation in Afghanistan was critical, but the EU will remain engaged

Borrell underlined that the European Union will make every effort to support the peace process and to remain a committed partner to the Afghan people. "Of course, we will have to take into account the evolving situation, but disengagement is not an option.  We are clear on that: there is no alternative to a negotiated political settlement, through inclusive peace talks.
Editor's choice
News
US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

The United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.

Popular

Editor's choice
News
US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

US and Ukraine sign deal giving US access to country’s valuable mineral wealth

The United States and Ukraine have signed a minerals deal after a two-month delay, in what President Donald Trump's administration called a new form of US commitment to Kyiv after the end of military aid. Ukraine said it secured key interests after protracted negotiations, including full sovereignty over its own rare earths, which are vital for new technologies and largely untapped. Trump had initially demanded rights to Ukraine's mineral wealth as compensation for US weapons sent under former president Joe Biden after Russia invaded just over three years ago.