Home Politics Ex-Burkina Faso president Compaore charged in Thomas Sankara murder

Ex-Burkina Faso president Compaore charged in Thomas Sankara murder

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Ex-Burkina Faso president Compaore charged in Thomas Sankara murder
Ousted Dictator Blaise Compaore

A military court in Burkina Faso’s capital has indicted former President Blaise Compaore in connection to the 1987 murder of his charismatic predecessor, Thomas Sankara.A statement issued by the court last month cited “complicity in assassination” and an “attack on state security” by Compaore, who ruled the country until 2014, when he was forced to resign in the face of mass demonstrations against an attempt to extend his 27-year rule. 

Thirteen others – including Gilbert Diendere, Compaore’s right hand man, and Hyacinthe Kafando, his security chief – were also indicted on charges ranging from“assassination” to “concealment of corpses”.Benewende Stanislas Sankara, a lawyer representing the relatives of the slain former president, described the indictment as “a victory and a step in the right direction”.The circumstances behind Sankara’s death, who was killed during the coup, have been shrouded in secrecy. 

Sankara took power in 1983, but he was killed aged 37 along with 12 other government officials during a coup led by Blaise Compaore on October 15, 1987.Many Burkinabes regard Sankara as a national hero. A prominent pan-Africanist, he is sometimes also referred to as the continent’s “Che Guevera”, in reference to the Argentinian Marxist revolutionary who led a number of armed struggles, including in Cuba. 

Late Thomas Sankara

Thomas Sankara, who became an iconic revolutionary West African leader, took power in 1983 at age 33 after he and Compaore launched a leftist revolution to overthrow a moderate military faction. In 1987, Compaore turned on his former friend, staging the coup and ruling with an iron fist for more than 27 years before being ousted in a popular uprising in 2014. He now lives in exile in neighboring Ivory Coast. 

Man of the people, Sankara

Blaise Compaore is unlikely to face extradition from Ivory Coast. In 2015, Burkina Faso issued a warrant for his arrest but Ivory Coast has refused to extradite him.The charges come as the impoverished nation has been battling a jihadist insurgency that has killed thousands, displaced more than 1 million people and divided communities. After winning re-election in November,President Roch Marc Christian Kabore pledged to make reconciliation a priority.

Author: Dr. Funmi Beckley

fumbeck@gmail.com

Abeokuta, Nigeria