The new military junta in Burkina Faso has consolidates its grip on power after Lieutenant Colonel Damiba was officially sworn in as head of state and assumed his role as the commander-in-chief of the national armed forces.
In a statement read out on national television on Monday 31 January by Lieutenant-Colonel Cyprien Kaboré, the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR) that took power on 25 January, announced several major decisions.
According to the statement the MPSR will ensure the “continuity of the state pending the establishment of a transition.
It also announced that the suspension of the constitution has been lifted in a way that does not contradict the “Fundamental Act” put in place by the military to organise power pending the adoption of a so-called transition charter.
Lieutenant-Colonel Cyprien Kaboré also declared that the head of the MPSR, Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba, was officially invested with the powers of the office of president of Burkina Faso, head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces.
Two senior military officials were also dismissed by the junta.
The Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Brigadier General Gilbert Ouédraogo, appointed last October by the recently deposed president, Christian Marc Roch Kaboré, has been relieved of his duties.
The head of the intelligence service, Colonel François Ouedraogo is no longer the director general of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR), a position he has held since 9 March 2016.
LOS/lb/as/APA