Burkina Faso opens trial on the 1987 Sankara assassination | News

The former president of 14 people facing charges for the murder of former leader Thomas Sankara 34 years ago.

34 years ago, Burkina Faso will assassinate Thomas Sankara, the country’s respected revolutionary leader, and put 14 people on trial, including a former president.

In Monday’s trial, former President Blaise Compaore and 13 others faced a series of charges for the death of Sankara, whom Sankara’s followers called Che Guevara, an African.

Over the years, the killing of Sankara, a symbol of Pan-Africanism, cast a shadow over the Sahel countries.

In October 1987, in a coup, Sankara and 12 others were beaten to bruises by a commando squad. The coup brought his friend and comrade Compaore to power.

The military court in the capital Ouagadougou will try Compaore in absentia [Lucas Jackson/Reuters]

Compaore ruled the country for the next 27 years, then was overthrown by a popular uprising and fled to neighboring Ivory Coast, which enabled him to obtain citizenship.

He and his former right-hand man, General Gilbert Deandre, who once led the elite presidential security group, face charges of conspiracy to murder, endanger national security, and conspiracy to hide the body.

absent

Compaore has always denied the accusation that he planned to kill, and he will be tried in absentia in the military court in the capital Ouagadougou.

Last week, his lawyer announced that he would not participate in a “political trial” that was flawed due to violations, and insisted that he enjoys immunity as a former head of state.

Deandre, 61, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for planning a conspiracy against the transitional government after Compaore’s ouster in 2015.

Another well-known figure among the defendants is Hyacinthe Kafando, the former Chief Warrant Officer of the Campoire Presidential Guard, who is accused of leading the strike team. He is at large.

Diendere is one of the 14 defendants in the Sankara murder trial [File: Theo Renaut/AP]

As a young army captain and Marxist-Leninist, Sankara came to power in a coup in 1983 at the age of 33.

He changed the name of the country from Walter, a legacy of the French colonial era, to Burkina Faso, which means “the land of honest people.”

He advanced the socialist agenda of nationalization and prohibited female genital mutilation, polygamy and forced marriages.

Like the former leader of Ghana, Jerry Rollins, he became an idol in the left-wing circles of Africa, praised for his radical policies and contempt for great powers.

Burkina Faso has long been silent about assassinations — the topic was taboo during Compaore’s long tenure — and many people are angry at the murderer’s impunity.

“The trial will mark the end of all lies-we will have some form of truth. But the trial will not restore our dreams,” accepted Halouna Traore, a chamber comrade and coup survivor. Said in a TV interview.