The Marxist Hero was shot in a coup in 1987, but the perpetrator was not investigated.
In Burkina Faso a historic trial was launched on Monday, according to news agency AFP. Former President and 13 Other Men Charged in Military Court as Revolutionary Leader Thomas Sankaran about the assassination almost to its day 34 years ago.
The hero was a well-known leftist leader who supported the political unity of the peoples of Africa. He came to power with the revolution in 1983 and instantly carried out a large number of reforms in line with his Marxist ideology: nationalized companies, gave colonial lords fields to the poor, ended forced marriages, and transit the entire nation to schools. Literacy rose from 13 percent to 73 during his few years in power, he says BBC.
At the same time, however, the Hero’s regime executed its political opponents without trial.
The hero also renamed his homeland from the then Upper Volta during the French colonial era to Burkina Faso, meaning the land of the honest or righteous.
Sankara was found shot on October 15, 1987, in the midst of a new revolution. His close friend and brother-in-law rose to power Blaise Compaore. He ruled Burkina Faso for the next 27 years.
Blaise Compaore appeared at a meeting of French-speaking countries in 2010. She is on trial for trial beginning Monday.
In the trial now underway, Compaore is accused of ordering the murder of Hero. However, he will not be brought to justice as a popular uprising drove him into exile in Côte d’Ivoire in 2014. Compaore has always denied charges of involvement in the murder and considers the trial political. He also feels he enjoys immunity as a former leader of the country.
In addition to Compaore, the accused is his right hand, General Gilbert Diendere, and a former Compaore security guard Hyacinthe Kafando, who is suspected of leading the murder squad.
Trial closely monitored throughout Africa, not just in Burkina Faso.
The hero is one of the most famous figures in history who drove a united Africa, the former leader of Ghana Jerry Rawlingsin in the manner of.
The hero has been called African Che Guevara According to the fighter who became the legend of the Cuban Revolution. Among other things, the current opposition leader in South Africa Julius Malema has named the hero Idol, the BBC says.
Proponents have been demanding a trial for decades, but during Compaore’s reign, no such was obtained.
“We have been waiting a long time, throughout the 27-year regime of Blaise Compaore. During his reign, we could not even dream of the possibility of a trial, ”commented Sankara’s brother. Paul Sankara According to the BBC.
Hero’s comrade-in-arms Halouna Traore for its part, according to AFP, commented in a TV interview that the trial would end a long era of lies.
“We get some kind of truth, but the trial doesn’t bring our dreams back,” he said.
.
