The Sankara Trial
Thirty-four years since the shocking killing of Burkina Faso’s then President, Thomas Sankara, 14 men are on trial, accused of complicity in the murder of the man known as “Africa’s Che Guevara”.
The charismatic Pan-Africanist was shot dead aged 37 by soldiers during a coup on 15 October 1987, which saw his close friend, Blaise Compaoré, come to power.
Four years previously, the pair had staged the takeover which saw Sankara become president.
Mr Compaoré is among the 14 accused but he is currently in exile in neighbouring Ivory Coast, where he fled after being forced to resign during mass protests in 2014. He has repeatedly denied involvement in Sankara’s death and is boycotting the trial.
The trial had been suspended after the most recent coup on January 24th ousting President Roch Kaboré after failing to deal with the threat of islamic terror groups violently attacking people in the countries North.
Since the coup the Sanaka trial, watched closely by the Burkabe people, had been paused until the constitution had been restored a week later.
*Feature shot for AFP
