Ex-Burkina Faso president, Compaoré, bags life jail over Sankara murder

A military tribunal has sentenced a former president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, to life imprisonment for the murder of Thomas Sankara, his predecessor.

The tribunal delivered its judgement on Wednesday.

“The court finds Blaise Compaoré and Hyacinthe Kafando guilty of attack on state security, complicity in murder and concealment of a corpse,” the tribunal said in its ruling.

The former president was charged in absentia alongside Hyacinthe Kafando, his former head of security, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment.

Compaoré and Kfando have previously denied any involvement in Sankara’s death along with 12 other defendants accused of involvement in the plot.

Three of the defendants were declared innocent by the court.

Sankara was assassinated in a coup led by Compaoré on October 15, 1987.

He was gunned down in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital, at the age of 37 — four years after he took power through a coup.

Sankara assumed office with great promise, vowing to thwart corruption and post-colonial influences, while also denouncing foreign aid as a control mechanism.

During his time in office, he won public support for his efforts to improve the economy and his promotion of policies to reduce excessive spending by public officials.

Compaore, who succeeded Sankara, went on to rule for 27 years before being ousted in a 2014 coup following his attempt to amend the constitution to extend his tenure.

He subsequently fled to Ivory Coast where he was given citizenship.