The verdict of the trial of the assassins of Thomas Sankara fell on Wednesday April 6 after 35 years of waiting. The former president of Burkina Faso and 12 of his collaborators were killed on October 15, 1987. 14 defendants appeared in this case. The main ones are former President Blaise Compaoré and Hyacinthe Kafando, his security chief, tried in absentia because they are in exile in Côte d’Ivoire. And General Gilbert Diendéré, former personal chief of staff of Blaise Compaoré. They were sentenced to life in prison for attacking state security, complicity in murder and premeditated murder. This historic verdict is not unanimous, it has also caused tension in the courtroom.
With our special correspondent in Ouagadougou, Gaelle Laleix
” Fatherland or death, we will overcome “, we shout in the courtroom after the statement of the verdict. “ General, we are with you “, we hear a few minutes later. The verdict of the trial gives rise to many interpretations.
The supporters of Thomas Sankara see in it the end of impunity, increased Burkinabè justice and a restored international image. ” It is a victory to judge such a crime in West Africa, 35 years after the facts » rejoices Fidèle Toé, former Minister of Labor under Thomas Sankara, who believes that Burkina « improved outcome of this trial “, even if he regrets the absence of the ” business sponsor. »
► To read: Sankara trial in Burkina Faso: ex-president Blaise Compaoré sentenced to life imprisonment
Pierre Ouedraogo, chairman of the Thomas Sankara Memorial committee, salutes a “ great victory for the people of Burkina Faso and the consolidation of democratic values which, he hopes, “ will ensure that such events never happen again nor that the weapons are used to liquidate national, African, global hopes “. The secretary general of the committee, Luc Damiba, also says to himself “ satisfied “. ” The right has been said “, he judges, believing that it is” important also for the history of the country and of Africa, because from now on we can judge the coups d’etat. »
For others, this verdict is the nail that drives Burkina a little further into insecurity. ” I would like to see General Diendéré free, indignant Mamadou Bamogo, who came to attend the hearing. A seasoned soldier should be in the field, not in prison.” Disappointed by a verdict “ very heavy “, he judges that this” makes things worse rather than making them better “.
The lawyer Blaise Compaoré, Maître Pierre-Olivier Sur, for his part denounces the organization of the trial in ” political and legal chaos ” and one ” travesty of justice “. He evokes the possibility of continuing the legal battle. ” Today, either we let things happen, we do nothing, we wait for this court decision to be forgotten, or we lodge an appeal and we find ourselves before the international courts which, all of a sudden, will cancel this sham verdict. »
Some also see in this court decision the preservation of the only achievement of the 2014 insurrection, which put an end to the regime of Blaise Compaoré. The democracy that followed having been overthrown by a coup in January. “ We must continue on this path, explains Germaine Pitroipa, friend of Thomas Sankara. We now want to see the trials of the murderers of journalist Norbert Zongo and student Dabo Boukari. »
►To read again: Web documentary: who had Sankara killed?