Blaise Compaoré, Burkina Faso’s former president, has been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment over the alleged role he played in the assassination of his revolutionary predecessor.
Thomas Sankara. Sankara was gunned down along with 12 others during the 1987 coup d’état that brought Compaoré to power.
The two were close friends and had jointly seized power in 1983, according to BBC News Pidgin. Many across regard Sankara as a hero because of his opposition to colonization and strict lifestyle.
Compaoré had been living in exile in Ivory Coast since his removal from office following mass protests in 2014 and has acquired Ivorian nationality.
Thirteen others were also found guilty, including Compaoré’s security chief Haycinthe Kafando, who was accused of leading the hit squad that killed Sankara. Kafando was also tried in absentia and received a life sentence. Our correspondents gathered that both of them have denied the charges. Compaoré had also previously denounced the trial as a political sham, adaeventsnews gathered.
Gilbert Diendéré, one of the commanders of the army during the 1987 coup and the main defendant who was present at the trial was also handed a life sentence.
Diendéré was already serving a 20-year sentence over a coup attempt in 2015. The verdict ends the six-month trial which started 34 years after the death of Sankara.
Eight other defendants received sentences ranging from three to 20 years while three defendants were freed. Thomas Sankara ruled Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987 before his friend and Minister of Defence, Blaise Compaore planned the coup that killed him.
