Suspects in the Sankara murder were subject to ammunition valued at $1.3 million in damages
Former Burkinabe president Blaise Compaoré and nine other defendants will have to pay more than 800 million CFA francs (1.2 million euros) for Sankara’s death.
In the Sankara case, the former chief of staff of Blaise Compaoré, and the former commander of his guard Hyacinthe Kafando are also on the list of suspects and will also have to pay the amount, the former commander of his guard Hyacinthe Kafando and the former – 1987 Army Chief Gilbert Diendéré, all sentenced in early April to life imprisonment for their involvement in the murder, as well as seven other defendants sentenced to terms ranging from three to twenty years in prison.
The amount of compensation for “reparation for moral and economic damage” amounts to 807.5 million CFA francs, including “a symbolic franc” for the heirs of Thomas Sankara, Judge Urbain Méda said in the case.
According to the court decision, the Burkinabe government will have to compensate the beneficiaries if the convicts are unable to pay the amounts.
The military court, however, rejected a request for the restitution of Thomas Sankara’s property to his family.
“We regret the city’s decision not to comply with this request for property restitution. Together with the family of Thomas Sankara, we will decide whether to appeal or not,” said Benewendé Stanislas Sankara, one of the family’s lawyers.
Thomas Sankara, who came to power in a coup in 1983, was killed with twelve of his comrades by a commando during a meeting at the headquarters of the National Council of the Revolution (CNR) in Ouagadougou. He was 37 years old.
The death of Thomas Sankara, who wanted to “decolonize mentalities”, was a taboo subject during the 27 years of power of Compaoré, expelled after a popular uprising in 2014. Since then, he has lived in exile in Ivory Coast and is sentenced to prison in absentia. , as well as Hyacinthe Kafando, on the run since 2016
