The family is demanding that Thomas Sankara’s death certificate be issued in accordance with the facts and that his personal belongings, such as his wedding ring and his gun, be returned.
As the verdict on the trial of the civil parties’ interests in the assassination of Thomas Sankara approaches on May 10, his family is calling for “truth and justice” in this legal drama that is holding Burkina Faso in suspense.
Mariam Sankara, his widow, has announced that she is only demanding token damages for, almost 32 years after the assassination of her husband and father of the Burkinabe revolution.
On the other hand, other families of the victims are demanding hundreds of millions of CFA francs for compensation. For his part, the State Judicial Agent is claiming 1.145 billion CFA francs for the financial, material and moral damages suffered. This request was rejected by the defense lawyers who considered the amount to be low.
As a reminder, the military court, after six months of hearings, had already pronounced on April 6, life imprisonment for Blaise Compaore, former president of the country, exiled in Cote d’Ivoire since his fall in 2014, the commander of his guard, Hyacinthe Kafando and Gilbert Diendere, the head of the army at the time of the events, for “complicity in murder” and “undermining State security.”
The verdict was welcomed by the family and lawyers of Thomas Sankara. “I am very moved, it is as high as we hoped, we will finally be able to mourn, even if I would have liked all the defendants to be present and ask for forgiveness,” said Mariam Sankara.
CD/fss/abj/APA