Agency Report — Burkina Faso has charged former President Blaise Compaore with the 1987 murder of then charismatic President Thomas Sankara.
Sankara, a charismatic Marxist revolutionary often called “Africa’s Che Guevara”, was assassinated during a coup led by his former friend Compaore.
Compaore, now in exile in Ivory Coast, went on to rule Burkina Faso for 27 years before being ousted in a 2014 uprising.
He has previously denied any involvement in Sankara’s death.
A military tribunal on Tuesday charged Compaore with complicity in the assassination, undermining state security and receiving cadavers, a court document seen by Reuters showed.
Compaore’s former right-hand man, General Gilbert Diendere, was also charged with several crimes related to Sankara’s killing, including complicity in the assassination.
Diendere, who has been in prison since a failed coup in 2015, was in court to hear the charges. He will enter a plea later.
Burkina Faso issued an arrest warrant for Compaore in 2015, but Ivory Coast has declined to hand him over.
Sankara, who seized power in a 1983 coup at the age of 33, was known for his trademark military fatigues and red beret and rejection of a lavish lifestyle.
In four years as president, he became the first African leader to denounce the menace of AIDS.
He took a stand against the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
He also promoted women’s rights by opposing female genital mutilation and polygamy.
