Burkina Faso’s former revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara reburied

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - The remains of Burkina Faso’s former revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara were buried Thursday at the site where he was assassinated in a coup more than three decades ago.

Sankara was buried along with 12 former comrades at the Thomas Sankara Memorial in the nation’s capital of Ouagadougou.

Several officials of the military government led by Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem attended the ceremony that was boycotted by Sankara’s family.

The 13 caskets containing the remains were draped in the national flag colors with portraits placed against each for officials to pay their respects before reburial.

Religious leaders of different denominations urged reconciliation of the Burkinabe people to achieve peace in the West African country plagued by insecurity.

Sankara's family said earlier they would not attend because they are not satisfied with the site.

But the government said the choice of the burial site was “mainly based on socio-cultural and security imperatives of national interest.”

Sankara, who assumed power in 1983, was killed Oct. 15, 1987, during a coup led by Blaise Compaore, a former ally. He was 37.

Campaore seized power and was deposed in 2014 in a popular uprising after 27 years in office.

The 13 bodies were exhumed from a cemetery on the outskirts of the capital following Compaore's downfall.

An investigation that followed culminated in the trial of 14 people accused of plotting Sankara’s assassination. In April 2022, Compaore, who was the main defendant, was handed a life term in absentia.

Sankara, nicknamed Africa's Che Guevara, was a military officer and socialist revolutionary. He remains highly regarded among left-wing Africanists for his anti-imperialist stance.​​​​​​​