A military court in OUAGADOUGOU on Monday began the long-awaited trial of 14 men, including the former president, accused in the assassination of BURKINA FASO’s left-wing leader THOMAS SANKARA 34 years ago
According to reports, the slaying of SANKARA, a pan-Africanist icon, has for years cast a shadow over the poor Sahel state, fueling its reputation for turbulence and bloodshed.
SANKARA and 12 others were riddled with bullets by a hit squad on October 15, 1987, during a putsch that brought his friend and comrade-in-arms BLAISE COMPAORE to power who announced through his lawyers last week that he would boycott the trial.
He ruled the country for 27 years before being deposed by a popular uprising in 2014 and fleeing to neighboring IVORY COAST, which granted him citizenship.
He and his former right-hand man, General GILBERT DIENDERE, who once headed the elite Presidential Security Regiment, face charges of complicity in murder, harming state security, and complicity in the concealment of corpses.
