Burkina Faso: Sankara family lawyers push for Compaorรฉโs extradition
Lawyers for the family of Thomas Sankara, the father of the Burkinabe revolution who was killed in the October 1987 coup d’รฉtat, say want former president Blaise Compaorรฉ to face trial, voluntarily or by force.
Compaorรฉ has been exiled in Cรดte dโIvoire since his fall from power in 2014.
โWe hope to see the extradition of Blaise Compaorรฉ,โ Prospรจre Farama, a lawyer for the Sankara family, told a press briefing on Monday on the eve of the 32nd anniversary of Thomas Sankaraโs death. โIt would be good for everyone, for the collective conscience of Burkina Faso [and] for Blaise Compaorรฉ himself, and even his supporters, if he could come to Burkina Faso and be heard by the courts, if he could defend himself and give his side,โ he insisted.
- Sankara was killed by a commando on 15 October 1987 at the age of 37 when his comrade-in-arms, Blaise Compaorรฉ, came to power.
- The death of Sankara, who became a pan-African figure, was a taboo subject during Compaorรฉโs 27 years in power. Compaorรฉ was overthrown by a popular insurrection in October 2014.
- The case was relaunched during the transition and an arrest warrant was issued against him by a Burkinabe court on 7 March 2016.
Compaorรฉ obtained Ivorian nationalityย thanks to his wife and as such cannot be extradited.
He has long been a strong supporter of the current Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. โIf he refuses to come to defend himself voluntarily I hope that the mandate that has been issued will be executed because Cรดte dโIvoire and Burkina Faso are states of law, and the rule of law respects the principles of law,โ Farama said.
โResistance and perseveranceโ
According to Stanislas Sankara, another lawyer from the Sankara family: โthe case is complicated. But in the face of reluctance there is resistance and perseverance from families and lawyers. The questioning on the merits is done, there are confrontations taking place, there are new charges being brought every day and we are asking the judge to do everything possible to execute the various warrants that have been issued,โ the lawyer said.
- In 2017, during a visit to Burkina Faso, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that all French documents concerning Sankaraโs murder would be โdeclassifiedโ.
Sankara, who has acquired a legendary status among his admirers similar to that of Che Guevara in Cuba, came to power in a coup dโรฉtat in 1983. His uncompromising choices caused him increasing challenges in his country, while his denunciation of imperialism and his links with the leaders of Libya and Ghana earned him strong enmities in his lifetime.
This article first appeared inย Jeune Afrique.
