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Assassination of Thomas Sankara: why is the truth so hard to find?
Audio 15:17
Thomas Sankara © William F. Campbell/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images
By: Alexandra Cagnard Follow
3 mins
35 years after the events and after six months of hearing, the verdict was delivered on April 6, 2022 in the Thomas Sankara trial.
Blaise Compaoré, the former president of Burkina Faso, was convicted of having ordered the murder of his predecessor, killed during a coup in 1987. But several gray areas remain.
Gaëlle Laleix, journalist with the Africa service of RFI, followed the trial in Ouagadougou.
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In this episode of
Witnesses d'actu
,
Gaëlle Laleix,
begins by explaining that this trial has not removed all the gray areas on the death of Thomas Sankara, for the simple and good reason, she says, "
Qu there is a whole part of the investigation that has not been judged during this trial.
The instruction was split into two.
The Burkinabè part and the international part.
It is suspected that there were strings drawn either from African countries or from France in this assassination.
Concerning France, Thomas Sankara bothered the president at the time, François Mitterrand a lot because this young Marxist soldier strongly denounced Françafrique
”.
On April 6, 2022, when the verdict was announced before the Ouagadougou military court, Gaëlle said she was struck by the immense relief in the room: "
This assassination was a gaping wound, and what is certain is that everyone wanted the page to be turned.
We had to have an official version of the story
”.
Former head of state Blaise Compaoré was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment, as was the commander of his guard at the time, Hyacinthe Kafando.
“It is the procedure, when one is not present, when one flees justice.
Blaise Compaoré is in exile in Côte d'Ivoire.
Hyacinthe Kafando is nowhere to be found.
The verdict was more surprising for General Gilbert Diendéré, who at the time was Compaoré's personal chief of staff and who was also sentenced to life in prison.
He is already serving a 20-year prison sentence for his participation in a coup attempt in 2015. “
It was a surprise.
Twenty years in prison had been required against him.
Many Burkinabè were outraged because they saw in him the providential man who could get the country out of its security crisis today
”.
What also marked Gaëlle Laleix when she arrived in Ouagadougou before the start of the trial was that in the streets, people were not aware that this trial was going to take place: "
It was quite intriguing to to see that the young people, who had not even known Sankara were interested, but the others much less
".
"
What is certain, concludes Gaëlle, is that now we have an official version of the death of Thomas Sankara and it is important for history
".
There still remains the question of forgiveness and dialogue: “
The great difficulty is that Blaise Compaoré did not face justice.
The civil parties and those close to Thomas Sankara are ready for forgiveness, they say, they still need to ask us for forgiveness.
There is really a sequel that will be difficult to manage now for the authorities in place
”.
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Burkina Faso
Thomas Sankara
Blaise Compaore
Justice
Africa
Story
Gilbert Diendere
Our guests
Gaelle Laleix
On the same subject
Trial of the assassination of Sankara: a verdict variously appreciated
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