Sankara assassination defendants in Burkina Faso have been forced to pay damages of US $1.3 million

Last updated on May 13th, 2022 at 04:05 pm

On Tuesday, former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré and nine others were found guilty and ordered to pay more than 800 million CFA francs (1.2 million euros) in damages to the families of former president Thomas Sankara and his killers, who were killed in 1987.

According to Judge Urbain Méda, in order to compensate the heirs of Thomas Sankara for “moral and economic prejudice,” the sum of damages awarded is 807.5 million CFA francs, which includes “a symbolic franc” for the heirs of Thomas Sankara. Blaise Compaoré, Hyacinthe Kafando, and Gilbert Diendéré were all sentenced to life in prison in early April for their roles in the assassination. Seven other defendants who were sentenced to between three and twenty years in prison are also expected to help pay this amount.

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According to the court’s ruling, the Burkinabe government will be required to reimburse the beneficiaries if the convicted individuals are unable to pay the amounts owed to the beneficiaries. On the other hand, the military court turned down a request from Thomas Sankara’s family to get back his property.

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“That the chamber did not allow this request for the recovery of property is something we deeply regret.” “We will consult with the family of Thomas Sankara before deciding whether or not to file an appeal,” Benewendé Stanislas Sankara, one of the Sankara family’s attorneys, described the situation.

Thomas Sankara, who came to power in a coup in 1983, was assassinated by a commando while attending a conference at the offices of the National Council of the Revolution (CNR) in Ouagadougou. He was one of twelve people killed during the meeting. He was 37 years old at the time. It was prohibited to talk about Thomas Sankara’s death, who was an activist who aimed to “decolonize mentalities” during Mr. Compaoré’s 27 years in power, until he was thrown out by a popular rebellion in 2014.

Since then, he has been living in exile in Côte d’Ivoire, where he has been sentenced in absentia, as has Hyacinthe Kafando, who has been on the run from authorities since 2016.