After 34 years, murder trial begins in assassination of Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara
- Sankara – a Marxist revolutionary widely known as ‘Africa’s Che Guevara’ – was killed in 1987 during a coup led by his former ally Blaise Compaore
- Fourteen men, including ex-president Compaore, are accused of plotting the assassination
The trial of 14 people accused of plotting the assassination of Burkina Faso’s former president Thomas Sankara started on Monday, 34 years after he was gunned down in one of the most infamous killings in modern African history.
Sankara – a charismatic Marxist revolutionary widely known as “Africa’s Che Guevara” – was killed in 1987 during a coup led by his former ally Blaise Compaore.
Compaore, who went on to rule the West African nation for almost three decades before he himself was ousted and fled to neighbouring Ivory Coast, has been charged with complicity in absentia. He has denied any involvement in Sankara’s death.
“It is a moment we have been waiting for,” Sankara’s widow, Mariam Sankara, told journalists as she arrived at the hearing.
“This trial is needed so that the culture of impunity and violence that still rages in many African countries, despite the democratic facade, stops indefinitely.”
The military tribunal opened the proceedings, then adjourned the hearing until October 25, after defence lawyers asked for more time to prepare their case, court officials said.