Politics

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

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2022

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

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

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.

Related Topics:#COUP Blaise Compaore Featured Thomas Sankara

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Politics

Uganda begins withdrawal of troops from eastern Congo DR

Published

40 mins ago

December 10, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Uganda has started the withdrawal of 1,000 troops deployed for a regional peacekeeping mission in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

According to a statement released by the military, Uganda’s decision not to extend the mandate of the East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) past December 8 prompted the withdrawal.

At its meetings in Arusha, Tanzania, the CDF affirmed the DRC’s decision and advised the defence ministers of the East African Community (EAC) to formally terminate the EACRF’s operations in the country’s vast eastern region, effective December 8.

UPDF’s contingent spokesperson, Capt. Ahmad Hassan Kato, “UPDF will ensure to expedite the pull-out of its forces and equipment within the approved timelines as enshrined in the extraordinary meeting of EAC CDFS (Chief of Defense Forces) held on December 6.”

“The Uganda contingent urges all armed groups (in the Eastern DRC) to facilitate the withdrawal of the UPDF troops by observing a total ceasefire to allow the forces to exit the mission area safely,” said Kato.

Aside from EAC forces, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as (MONUSCO), has around 12,400 troops in the Congo, with a cost of over $1 billion per year.

Lately, there has been an upsurge in violence in Congo, DR. High rates of civilian casualties and displacement have been caused by hostilities with neighbouring countries, political violence, extrajudicial killings by security forces, and conflicts between militant groups over territory and natural resources.

According to the United Nations, more than 100 armed groups and local militias operate in the eastern DRC.

Politics

Morocco joins PPCA to phase out coal

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Morocco has joined an international campaign to phase out coal, Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), an effort to secure renewable energies in the next seven years.

With Morocco, PPCA has 60 national governments united by the desire to make a clean break with coal-fired power generation.

The United States, the United Arab Emirates, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, the Dominican Republic, Iceland, Kosovo, Malta, and Norway joined the global initiative earlier at the COP 28 climate summit, according to a statement from PPCA.

Without providing a timeline, the PPCA stated that Morocco “will work together with the PPCA to develop a plan for phasing (coal) out.”

Africa bears the least responsibility for climate change, yet it is already experiencing more severe effects than most other regions of the world.

The continent has the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per capita of any region, contributing less than 3% of global energy-related CO2 emissions to date. Africa is home to nearly one-fifth of the world’s current population.

According to official figures, about 70% of Morocco’s electricity is generated from coal, with 20% coming from renewable sources thus far this year. By 2030, Morocco wants to increase the proportion of renewable energy in its energy mix to over 52%.