Burkina Faso. The scandalous return of Blaise Compaoré

In October 2014, the President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, hastily left the power he had held since 1987 to take refuge in Côte d’Ivoire. That year, he had, with grenades, eliminated Thomas Sankara, the honest man who had never bowed to France. Paris will always be grateful to Compaoré. And maybe even now. Sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in April by a military court in Burkina Faso, we could expect anything except that one day this ex-president, hated by a large majority of Burkinabés, will set foot in the country again. Mistake !

Skilfully orchestrated leaks revealed a few days ago that Compaoré was « expected at the end of the week » in Ouagadougou where he should « be received by the Head of State within the framework of national reconciliation ». The head of the military junta, author of the January 24 coup, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, is actually close to Compaoré: he served in the presidential security regiment (RSP). Officially, Damiba seeks to create a « sacred union » to help him in the fight against the jihadist groups that have bloodied Burkina Faso since 2015. All shame drunk, the country’s presidency invited « a high-level meeting » on Friday , the five former heads of state still alive, including Compaoré.

On Wednesday, Thomas Sankara’s lawyers called on the judicial authorities to « arrest and refer » Blaise Compaoré upon his arrival in Burkina Faso. “The repercussions of this return of the convict from the military court, Blaise Compaoré, if it is not in prison will be immeasurable on our already bankrupt state”, writes the Lefaso.net site.