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Former Burkina Faso President Compaore, sentenced to life in prison for killing ‘best friend’ Sankara

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Former President of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a military tribunal for the murder of his predecessor and ‘best friend’, Thomas Sankara, in a 1987 coup.

The tribunal ruled on Wednesday that Compaore and 13 others were guilty of plotting the assassination of the Marxist revolutionary, Sankara, in the palace coup.

The charismatic and well loved Sankara was gunned down in the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou, on October 15, 1987, at the age of 37, four years after he took power in a coup d’etat.

After taking out Sankara, Compaore went on to rule for 27 years before being ousted in another coup in 2014 and fled to Ivory Coast, where he is still believed to live.

Compaore was charged in absentia along with his former head of security, Hyacinthe Kafando, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment.

Blaise Compoare and Thomas Sankara were best of friends

Blaise Compoare and Thomas Sankara were best of friends

Both have previously denied any involvement in Sankara’s death along with 12 other defendants accused of involvement in the plot, but in delivering its verdict, the tribunal said the prosecution had proven its case beyond every reasonable doubt.

“The court finds Blaise Compaoré and Hyacinthe Kafando guilty of attack on state security, complicity in murder and concealment of a corpse,” the tribunal said in its ruling.

Sankara, a former fighter pilot, was greatly loved by Burkinabés as
he won public support in the impoverished West African nation by selling off a government fleet of Mercedes, lowering the salaries of public servants, fighting corruption and forbidding first class state travel.

He also cut his own salary, refused to work with air conditioning and jogged through Ouagadougou unaccompanied, but his critics often said his reforms had curtailed freedom and did little to enrich the ordinary people.

Thomas Sankara was well loved by Burkinabes

Thomas Sankara was well loved by Burkinabes

Every October 15, workers, students, and activists gather around with white flowers marking the spot where Sankara was shot and killed, a testimony that he is still loved.

Politics

Equatorial Guinea bans sex in govt offices after tapes leak

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Following the release of private recordings on social media that seemed to show a senior finance ministry official having sex with multiple women in a variety of locations, including his office, Equatorial Guinea on Tuesday announced a crackdown on sex in government offices.

The administration claimed that because the recordings had damaged the reputation of the small Central African nation, it was taking action.

Since the videos first surfaced last week, the controversy has been rocking the government of Equatorial Guinea, which has had the same president for decades.

Hundreds of amateur films were discovered at the finance official’s residence during a raid related to a corruption inquiry, according to local media sources.

According to local media, the women in the films seemed to be family members and the spouses of other influential government officials.

According to a government statement, Vice President Nguema Obiang Mangue issued fresh directives on Tuesday to stop ministry and court workers from committing crimes at work.

These included increased security and the installation of security cameras in every workplace.

“The executive is taking this decision following the videos of a sexual nature that have gone viral on social media in recent days and that denigrate the country’s image,” the state information agency said in the statement.

According to the statement, the measures were decided upon in emergency sessions with the attorney general, the Supreme Court, and other parties.

It stated that individuals featured in the sex tapes would be suspended without being given their identities, and those in charge of guarding the buildings where the videos were purportedly shot would receive reprimands for their negligence.

The longest-serving president in history, Teodoro Obiang, has led Equatorial Guinea, a country of around 1.7 million inhabitants on the west coast of Central Africa, for 45 years.

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Chad threatens to leave international security force

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Mahamat Idriss Deby, the temporary president of Chad, has threatened to withdraw the Central African nation from a multinational security force, claiming that the force has not been successful in combating rebel groups in the Lake Chad region.

During his tour of the area, which includes parts of western Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, Deby made the declaration on Sunday. In late October, suspected Boko Haram militants attacked Chad, killing about 40 soldiers.

Deby declared that an operation against the invaders had begun and that he was thinking of leaving the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which is composed of troops from the nations that border Lake Chad.

 

Although disagreements and a lack of coordination have made the joint force’s job more difficult, Chad’s withdrawal would be a significant setback because its military is one of the most reputable in the area.

Deby cited “the lack of joint efforts against the common enemy, which is unfortunately always observed on the ground. This force – created to pool efforts and intelligence – seems to be in a slump.”

Insurgencies have frequently attacked the Lake Chad region, notably Boko Haram, which began in northeast Nigeria in 2009 and expanded to the west of Chad, and Islamic State terrorists in West Africa.

Moreso, an estimated 910,000 people have crossed into Chad since the onset of the crisis in Sudan, of which 222,743 are Chadian returnees as of the end of September 2024.

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