The remains of Thomas Sankara, the charismatic leader of Burkina Faso’s 1983 leftist coup, and 12 comrades who were assassinated alongside him 30 years ago, were reburied on Thursday. The ceremony of Thomas Sankara reburied took place at the assassination site in the capital Ouagadougou, which has since become a memorial featuring a life-size statue of Sankara. Soldiers and community leaders paid their respects to the late revolutionary during the ceremony. All the coffins were draped in the Burkina Faso flag and displayed a photo of the deceased beside them.
Sankara, popularly referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara,” was only 33 when he came to power in 1983. He and former President Blaise Compaore led a leftist coup that overthrew a moderate military faction. During his tenure, Sankara made a range of reforms, including renaming the country Burkina Faso, which means “the land of honest men.” He was assassinated by a hit squad along with a dozen other leaders in 1987 during a meeting of the ruling National Revolutionary Council. Compaore, who seized power on the same day, ruled for 27 years and made Sankara’s killing a strict taboo.
The 13 bodies were exhumed in 2015 from a cemetery on the outskirts of the city, leading to a lengthy trial that culminated in April 2022. Compaore and the suspected hit squad leader were given life terms in absentia, while a detained general who had been army commander at the time received a similar sentence. Compaore, who now lives in Ivory Coast, has always denied involvement in Sankara’s assassination.
Image Credit: Sophie Garcia/AP Photo
