A Burkinabe officer has admitted to participating in an attempted coup orchestrated from Togo by former transitional president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, and to receiving 8 million CFA francs in connection with it.
Captain Coulidiati Prospere, an officer serving at the Burkinabe Air Force headquarters, admitted on Thursday to participating in an attempt to destabilise the government, as part of a plot allegedly orchestrated by the exiled Damiba.
Arrested on January 2, 2026, the officer, a graduate of the 17th class of the Georges Namoano Military Academy in Po, gave a detailed confession regarding his involvement in the coup plot.
According to statements broadcast Thursday evening by RTB, Captain Coulidiati was contacted two weeks before his arrest by Lieutenant-Colonel Damiba from a Togolese number.
“He contacted me on the Zangi app (a basic encrypted messaging app, similar to WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram) to check on me without saying anything else,” he explained, specifying that the exchanges were conducted “parabolically” using codes.
The communications then continued via the encrypted Signal app, where Captain Ouedraogo David, nicknamed “King David” and currently based in Ghana, acted as an intermediary. The messages were programmed to disappear automatically after 30 seconds.
On December 31, 2025, the officer was tasked with retrieving a package containing 8 million CFA francs. He admits to having taken 3 million before having the remaining 5 million delivered to the recipient through his brother, Sawadogo Robert. On the evening of January 2nd, Colonel Damiba entrusted him with a mission to eliminate Captain Passere, commander of the Sapone drone base, designated as the main “obstacle” by the conspirators.
The objective was to neutralise the drones to allow rebel units to launch an operation.
The operation was to be carried out on January 3rd, 2026, at 11:00 PM. From his position abroad, Lieutenant Colonel Damiba allegedly established a command post from which he coordinated several “missionaries” whose full identities he alone knew.
In his confession, Captain Coulidiati asked for “mercy from President Ibrahim Traore, the population, and the entire military hierarchy.”
This case is part of a series of testimonies currently being released concerning individuals involved in this attempted destabilisation.
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