{"id":2236,"date":"2021-10-04T20:00:46","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T20:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2236"},"modified":"2021-10-04T20:00:46","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T20:00:46","slug":"africas-che-guevara-burkina-faso-awaits-ex-presidents-trial-for-murder-of-charismatic-predecessor-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/?p=2236","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s Che Guevara: Burkina Faso Awaits Ex-President\u2019s Trial For Murder Of Charismatic Predecessor"},"content":{"rendered":"

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso \u2014\u00a0After months of tension, a section of Burkina Faso\u2019s military officers led by Captain Blaise Compaor\u00e9 deposed President\u00a0Jean-Baptiste Ou\u00e9draogo<\/a>\u00a0on Aug. 3, 1983, replacing him with Captain No\u00ebl Isidore Thomas Sankara, aged 33.<\/p>\n

Four years later, the same officers who propped Sankara to power, led by his friend, Compaor\u00e9, orchestrated another military coup, killing Sankara and 12 others.<\/p>\n

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After years of campaigns by his family and supporters, Sankara\u2019s killers will face justice when the trial of the 1987 coup suspects begins on Oct. 11, 2021.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fondly referred to as Africa\u2019s\u00a0Che Guevera<\/a>, he changed his country\u2019s name from\u00a0Upper Volta to Burkina Faso<\/a>, [Land of Honest Men], a name he coined using a word from the country\u2019s two major native languages, M\u00f2or\u00e9 and Dioula.<\/p>\n

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He was an airforce pilot known for his love of motorbikes and amateur guitar skills and cut a popular and charismatic figure in the capital, Ouagadougou, and beyond.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Luc Damiba, the secretary-general of the\u00a0International Thomas Sankara Memorial Committee<\/a>, was just 11 when Sankara died, yet he still remembers his virtues.<\/p>\n

\u201cSankara embodied integrity in all its glory,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a visionary, a sincere patriot, and a realist. He wanted happiness in equal measure for all citizens. He is a treasure that gets better over the years. Burkinab\u00e9s, especially the youth, are beginning to appreciate the vision he had for Burkina Faso and Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n

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During Compaor\u00e9\u2019s 27-year rule, mentioning Sankara\u2019s name in Burkina Faso was taboo, but the ex-president always denied involvement in his predecessor\u2019s assassination.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Deposed in\u00a02014 protest<\/a>s and exiled in the Ivory Coast, Compaor\u00e9 will be tried in absentia alongside 13 other government officials, including his security chief, Hyacinthe Kafando.<\/p>\n

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They face charges ranging from complicity in the assassination, attack on state security, concealment of corpses, among others.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cDiscovering the truth about Compaor\u00e9\u2019s role in Sankara\u2019s death is subscribing to justice, which is the best thing to do for the people of Burkina Faso in particular and Africa in general,\u201d\u00a0Peter Sakwe Masumbe<\/a>, a lecturer in Public Policy, International Relations and Conflict Studies in Cameroon\u2019s University of Buea, told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

\u201cHiss\u00e8ne Habr\u00e9\u2019s trial<\/a>\u00a0and imprisonment cooled several hotheads in Chad.\u00a0Jacob Zuma\u2019s sentence<\/a>\u00a0raised hope for the oppressed in South Africa in the application of the rule of law, which is a great pillar in the culture of democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prosecution of African leaders in Africa soil, as opposed to international jurisdictions, such as the\u00a0International Criminal Court<\/a>, shows Africa\u2019s willingness to use its institutions to fight impunity, said Suh I Fru Norbert, a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Comparative Politics in Cameroon\u2019s University of Buea.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is credible hope for effective justice across the continent given that such trials are likely to produce deterrent effects. These trials renew trust in Africa\u2019s institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trial will take place amid a national debate on whether to pardon the ex-president in the interests of national reconciliation.<\/p>\n

However, Farama Prosper, one of the lawyers representing the relatives of the slain former president, said those asking for Compaor\u00e9\u2019s pardon are demanding \u201cmore and not less impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

We do not build a democratic society based on emotions,\u201d he told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is just a problem of injustice and impunity that has lasted for more than 30 years. Compaor\u00e9 must be judged fairly and impartially. If he is guilty, he will be convicted, and if he is innocent, acquitted. This is the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Masumbe described Compaor\u00e9\u2019s adoption of Ivorian citizenship as a \u201cpolitical maneuver\u201d, but that does not remove the noose from his neck.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Ivorian leaders believe in the rule of law, the best thing for them to do is to hand him over to the Burkinabe authorities so that he faces the trial and its consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suh said trying suspects in absentia is not new.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all, being physically present during trials does not mean you must say something. Habr\u00e9 of Chad never uttered a word to defend himself during his trial,\u201d Suh said.<\/p>\n

There is no genuine reconciliation without credible justice, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cReconciliation can follow during the execution of his punishment (in case he is found guilty). Also, if found guilty, he could still benefit from a presidential pardon. We can cite the example of\u00a0Laurent Gbagbo<\/a>\u00a0in the Ivory Coast, who had to go through a trial [at the International Criminal Court]before engaging in any reconciliation process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of Compaor\u00e9\u2019s co-accused have also died, which Prosper termed a \u201cpity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is why this trial must be held urgently. Better late than never.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sankara\u2019s remains were exhumed in May 2015 at the request of his relatives, but DNA testing did not positively identify his body.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the others, [killed alongside him] it was positive. So doubt still exists in the minds of many Burkinab\u00e9s if the body that was buried is his,\u201d Damiba told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

For many who regard Sankara as a national and continental hero, the trial represents a historic moment for Burkinabes and Africans generally to finally solve the mystery of Sankara\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trial is the symbol of the victory for all men and women who love justice, the truth and represents the fight against impunity,\u201d Prosper told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

The country unveiled a five-meter bronze statue of Sankara in March 2019 in Ouagadougou, depicting him in army fatigues, an arm raised, his face gazing at the horizon.<\/p>\n

A new\u00a0Thomas Sankara Memorial<\/a>\u00a0building inspired by his vision is underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning of the revolution in 1983, Sankara mobilized people to participate financially, materially, and physically in development, such as building a school, a health center, acquiring an ambulance for a village, etc. Campaigns for the Thomas Sankara Memorial also consist of mobilizing citizens to contribute towards this noble project,\u201dDamiba told Zenger News.<\/p>\n

He said they had received CFA100 million [$180,839] from well-wishers at the end of July 2021 towards the project, whose cost is estimated at over CFA35 billion [$63.3 million].<\/p>\n

Source: Zenger News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso \u2014\u00a0After months of tension, a section of Burkina Faso\u2019s military officers led by Captain Blaise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2237,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-express"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2238,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2236\/revisions\/2238"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/africanamericanvoice.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}