A military court in Burkina Faso on Wednesday sentenced former president Blaise Campare to life imprisonment for the murder of his predecessor Thomas Sankara in a coup.
The long-awaited verdict brought to close, a six-month trial about the murder of Mr Sankara, who was assassinated during a coup led by his friend and comrade-in-arms, Mr Compaoré, on October 15, 1987.
Military prosecutors in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, had requested a 30-year sentence for Mr Compaoré, who was being tried alongside 13 others.
Two other main suspects were also handed life imprisonment sentences. They are Gilbert Diendéré, one of the leaders of the 1987 putsch and leader of the 2015 coup, as well as Hyacinthe Kafando, leader of Mr Compaoré’s guards at the time.
Mr Compaoré, who was unseated in a 2014 uprising, fled to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire where he was given citizenship. He was tried in absentia, like Mr Kafando but unlike Mr Diendéré who is in custody.
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A fiery Marxist-Leninist leader, Sankara, was shot dead on October 15, 1987, after four years of coming to power as a 33-year old army captain.
He, together with 12 colleagues, was killed by a hit squad at a meeting of the ruling National Revolutionary Council.
During his time as president, he also notably changed the name of the former French colony from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, meaning “the land of the upright”.
Mr Compaoré became his successor, ruling until his 2014 ouster.
Contributed by Chukwuebuka Festus
Source: Aljazeera
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