Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara was a Burkinabé military officer, Marxist revolutionary, and pan-Africanist President of west African nation Burkina Faso. Sankara was assassinated in 1987. (Wikipedia Commons)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
Burkina Faso’s former president Blaise Compaoré was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for his role in the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara. A military court in Burkina Faso found Compaoré guilty over the 1987 murder of Sankara, a charasmatic revolutionary leader in the west African nation. Sankara, aged 37, was gunned down along with 12 others during the 1987 coup d’état that brought Compaoré to power. However, Compaoré who was tried in absentia, will not serve his jail sentence anytime soon as he is currently living in exile in neighboring Ivory Coast since being forced from office in 2014. The court also sentenced in absentia his former head of security, Hyacinthe Kafando, to life in jail. Sankara was a young charismatic army officer who instilled pride in the poor people of his small nation and made enemies in the west in his defiance of colonialism and imperialism. U.S. and European foreign policy officials frowned upon his close alliances with Fidel Castro of Cuba and Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Sankara stood in marked contrast to the hand-picked African puppet leaders backed by France and the U.S. that included Mobutu Sese Seko, president of then-Zaire, Gabon president Omar Bongo, Africa’s longest serving president, as examples as “good” Africans. Sankara stood up for the poor and oppressed of Africa and was labeled a dangerous Marxist by the powers that be for disturbing the established colonial order.
Compaoré Became Staunch Ally of France After Murder of Sankara
Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951) is a Burkinabé former politician who was president of Burkina Faso from 1987 to 2014.
Sankara was the Che Guevara of Africa
Sankara was and still remains a revered hero across Africa for his courage in putting Africans first and refusing to be exploited by the big western powers seeking to secure access to the Continent’s vast mineral wealth. He was seen as a sort of Che Guevara of Africa. Ernesto “Che” Guevara was an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, physician, author, guerrilla leader, diplomat, and military theorist. A major figure of the Cuban Revolution, his stylized visage has become a ubiquitous countercultural symbol of rebellion and global insignia in popular culture.
Sankara came to power in 1983 and immediately vowed to become independent of influence of the west. Sankara also ‘cleaned house’ in Burkina Faso eradicating corruption and waste in the government. Sankara became an enemy of France for his revolutionary influence in the French Republic’s backyard Africa which Paris considered as an entitled playground.
Compaoré and Sankara had been close friends and jointly seized power in 1983. They were as close as “brothers” it has been said. Supporters and family of Sankara long suspected Compaoré of being directly involved in the assassination of the iconic, Pan-African leader and called for an investigation and murder trial. During Compaoré’s 27-year-long rule, no effort to investigate Sankara’s death was allowed.
Sankara’s widow, Mariam Sankara relentlessly pursued justice . Then, finally, the historic trial opened in October 2021, 34 years after the death of Sankara. Compaoré’s role in the murder was a central focus of the trial with witnesses testifying he plotted for months to overthrow Sankara in 1987. Witnesses testified that the commandos who gunned him down were at Compaoré house before carrying out the bloody assassination. Witnesses detailed a plot to ambush Sankara and his closest followers. The prosecution said Sankara headed to the National Revolutionary Council meeting for a “rendezvous with death”, as his executioners were already there waiting for him.
Mariam Sankara: “Everything suggests the assassination was premeditated. He ( Compaoré) was the one who gained from the situation…so we can not say he was innocent.” -France24.
His widow Mariam Sankara, who lives in southern France, came to Ouagadougou for the trial. Mariam was present during the ruling, and hailed the verdict as “true justice.”
Diplomatic Cables Show France Officials Sought to Remove Sankara From Power
According to the New York Times, declassified American diplomatic cables show that French officials actively sought to remove Sankara during his first months in power characterizing him as a “dangerous influence” in Africa. The NY Times reported the trial heard that a day after Sankara’s death, French agents removed sensitive wiretap recordings from the offices of the local intelligence services. French troops evacuated Compaoré by helicopter to Ivory Coast after he was forced out in 2014.
Compaoré Denounced the trial as a political sham
Compaoré’s Paris-based lawyer has said his client has called the trial as a political sham because it is not internationally recognized.
