Burkinabe Honor Sankara's Legacy

On Tuesday, it was the 37th anniversary of Thomas Sankara's assassination. That may seem a long tome ago, but the people of Burkina Faso still come out in large numbers every year in the capital Ouagadougou to remember him. At this year’s event, government officials, ambassadors and members of civil-society came together to pay tribute to his life and legacy. They gathered at the Thomas Sankara Memorial - the site of his assassination.

African Stream was also there - speaking to Burkinabe about the significance of the ceremony within the context of the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States (AES). The AES is a pan-African, anti-imperialist confederation seeking to unify Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. It’s a project that’s very much in line with Sankara’s vision for his homeland and Africa.

Today, his life and legacy are more important than ever as the current president of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, works to put the country back on a 'Sankarist' path. While Sankara only spent four years in power in Burkina Faso, he transformed the country through literacy campaigns, public-health drives, environmental projects, infrastructure development, food sovereignty, increased power for women and more. He is believed to have been murdered by his right-hand man Blaise Compaoré, who was found guilty of his assassination by a Burkinabe court in 2022. Many also believe that the CIA and France were involved in the plot. Compaoré ruled over Burkina Faso for 27 years after Sankara's death until he was overthrown in a popular insurrection in 2014.