The Ouagadougou military court on Tuesday sentenced former Burkinabè President Blaise Compaoré and nine other defendants to pay the sum of 807.5 million CFA francs (1.2 million euros) in damages to the beneficiaries of the ex-head of state Thomas Sankara and his companions, assassinated in October 1987.
Judge Urbain Méda indicated that the amount of damages for “reparation of moral and economic damages” amounts to 807.5 million CFA francs. Of this sum, only “a symbolic franc” goes to Sankara’s heirs, in accordance with the decision taken by his family.
Indeed, for those close to the assassinated president, what matters is the revelation of the truth and the fact that the culprits answer for their actions. But the family did not win their claim for the return of Sankara’s property, such as his revolver and his wedding ring.
The court also did not grant the family’s request for the issuance of a proper death certificate. Sankara’s relatives are against the mention of “natural death” which appears on the certificate already established.
Head of State Thomas Sankara and twelve of his companions had been eliminated by a commando while they were meeting in Ouagadougou. It was after this coup that his friend Blaise Compaoré took power.
Last month, the military court handed down sentences against ten defendants, including Compaoré, a commander of his former guard, Hyacinthe Kafando, and a former army chief, Gilbert Diendéré, all three of whom received life sentences.
The trial was held in the absence of Compaoré and Kafando who had gone into exile in other countries. Blaise Compaoré had abandoned power and fled his country in 2014, following a popular uprising. He had found refuge in Côte d’Ivoire where the authorities have not yet decided in favor of a possible extradition.
By OMA Newsletter N° 697 of 11/05/2022
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