At the start in Burkina Faso, in a military court in the capital Ouagadougou, the trial of 14 people (including former president Blaise Compaoré) for the killing of Thomas Sankara, former president nicknamed the “Che Guevara of Africa” and removed right from Compaoré in a 1987 coup. Compaoré is accused of complicity, undermining the security of the state and hiding bodies. He is being tried in absentia since he is in Côte d’Ivoire, where he has been in exile since he was forced to leave power in 2014. Côte d’Ivoire has refused to extradite Compaoré since Burkina Faso issued a warrant for his arrest six years ago. The trial, which is expected to last several months, is considered a significant step in ascertaining the circumstances of Sankara’s death, which has been shrouded in secrecy for some 35 years.
Burkina Faso: trial for the murder of Thomas Sankara, the “Che Guevara of Africa”
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