Burkina Faso has issued an international arrest warrant for former President Blaise Compaoré for his alleged role in the 1987 assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara. Sankara, a charismatic Marxist revolutionary often referred to as "Africa's Che Guevara", was killed during a coup that brought Compaoré to power in 1987.
Compaoré has long been suspected of orchestrating Sankara's murder, but the circumstances surrounding his death remained shrouded in mystery for decades. In 2015, the transitional government that succeeded Compaoré's 27-year rule reopened the investigation into Sankara's assassination. Authorities exhumed his remains and conducted DNA tests, though the results were inconclusive. In April 2022, Compaoré was tried in absentia and found guilty of complicity in Sankara's murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal in Burkina Faso.
The verdict was met with applause and cheers in the courtroom, as Sankara's widow, Mariam Sankara, expressed satisfaction that those responsible were finally being held accountable. Compaoré, who has been living in exile in Ivory Coast, has consistently denied any involvement in Sankara's assassination. However, his refusal to appear at the trial and the Ivorian government's unwillingness to extradite him have fueled suspicions of his guilt.
The issuance of the arrest warrant marks a significant milestone in the long-standing quest for justice for Sankara, whose socialist policies and pan-African vision made him a revered figure across the continent. His untimely death at the age of 37 was a tragic loss for Burkina Faso and the broader African liberation movement
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