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| The late Captain Thomas Sankara |
By Jeune
Afrique
Lawyers
for the family of Thomas Sankara, the father of the Burkinabe revolution who
was killed in the October 1987 coup d'état, say want former president Blaise
Compaoré to face trial, voluntarily or by force.
Compaoré
has been exiled in Côte d’Ivoire since his fall from power in 2014.
“We hope
to see the extradition of Blaise Compaoré,” Prospère Farama, a lawyer for the
Sankara family, told a press briefing on Monday on the eve of the 32nd
anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s death.
“It would
be good for everyone, for the collective conscience of Burkina Faso [and] for
Blaise Compaoré 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,”
he insisted.
Sankara
was killed by a commando on 15 October 1987 at the age of 37 when his
comrade-in-arms, Blaise Compaoré, came to power.
The death
of Sankara, who became a pan-African figure, was a taboo subject during
Compaoré’s 27 years in power. Compaoré 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.
Compaoré
obtained Ivorian nationality thanks to his wife and as such cannot be
extradited.
He has
long been a strong supporter of the current Ivorian President Alassane
Ouattara.
“If he
refuses to come to defend himself voluntarily I hope that the mandate that has
been issued will be executed because Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso are states
of law, and the rule of law respects the principles of law,” Farama said.
According
to Stanislas Sankara, another lawyer from the Sankara family: “the 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,” the
lawyer said.
In 2017,
during a visit to Burkina Faso, French President Emmanuel Macron promised that
all French documents concerning Sankara’s murder would be “declassified”.
Sankara,
who has acquired a legendary status among his admirers similar to that of Che
Guevara in Cuba, came to power in a coup d’état 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.
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