Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Who Killed Africa’s Che Guevara?

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen Net
  • 11 Oct 2021 23:47
  • 4 Shares
4 Min Read

The trial is deemed as one of the most highly anticipated African trials ever.

  • x
  • Thomas Sankara changed Burkina Faso forever.
    Thomas Sankara changed Burkina Faso forever.

On 15 October 1987, pan-Africanist leader and president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, was shot dead.

He was only 37.

Africa’s Guevara

Sankara, alias “Africa’s Che Guevara”, was a principled Marxist revolutionary who seized power in a coup at the age of 33. That year, his nation was reshaped and began experiencing a hopeful yet short-lived reign.

Before Thomas Sankara’s arrival, Burkina Faso was called Upper Volta by France. Refuting this colonial naming, Sankara changed it to the current name which means “the land of upright people” in Mossi, the nation’s most spoken language.

Outlining his political views shortly after becoming president, he said “the revolution’s main objective is to destroy imperialist domination and exploitation.”

His actions rang true to his words, as he fought inequality, expanded access to education, led the first AIDS awareness campaign in Africa, redistributed land, and banned female genital mutilation and polygamy.

To top it all off, he forced government officials to give up perks such as first-class tickets, and did not bow down to the demands of former colonial power, France.

Related News

Burkina Faso declares UN official 'persona non grata'

Ghanaian defense, environment ministers killed in helicopter crash

His assassination

On the fateful day of his assassination, Sankara was only 4 years in rule when a hit squad led by his close friend, Blaise Compaoré, shot him and 12 others in the capital, Ouagadougou.

The assassination shook Africa to the ground: Ghana declared one week of mourning, while the Congolese radio lamented the loss of ''a worthy son of Africa'' and decried '' Compaoré's treason.''

Compaoré, who was at the time Sankara’s Minister of State, then went on to succeed the Panfricanist leader and stayed in power for 27 years.

The deed that went unpunished for 34 years is now haunting its perpetrators, as a trial in Burkina Faso has finally opened on Monday.

14 men accused of orchestrating the assassination are on trial in the nation’s capital, with Compaoré heading the list, despite being tried in absentia; He lives in exile in the Ivory Coast, and all extradition attempts thus far have remained ineffectual. 

  • Who Killed Africa’s Che Guevara?
    Blaise Compaoré, former president of Burkina Faso and murderer of Sankara, is being tried in absentia.

The trial has been described by several media outlets as one of the most highly anticipated African trials ever.

For years, allegations claiming France’s involvement in the assassination circulated, notably as Compaoré’s tenure was characterized by vehement support of “Françafrique,” an arrangement allowing France to continue pulling the political strings of its previous African colonies despite the official ending of its colonial presence. 

French President Emmanuel Macron has promised in 2017 to declassify all documents pertaining to Sankara’s case, with three batches of documents shared with Burkina Faso since then. Yet none originate from the office of the French president at the time, Francois Mitterrand.

Sankara’s widow, Mariam, told journalists during her arrival at the hearing that “it is a moment we have been waiting for.” 

After ousting Compaoré in 2014, the people of Burkina Faso elected their current president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré twice, who went to honor Sankara’s legacy by erecting a statue of the assassinated leader and opening a mausoleum, a cinema, and a media library in his name.

Today’s Burkina Faso is polarized and suffering from violence and desperation. The trial could give the nation a glimmer of hope by revealing the culprit behind their leader’s murder, and the colonial forces that stood behind them. 

  • Africa
  • Burkina Faso
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Colonialism
  • Thomas Sankara

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
UKLFI’s latest faux pas, like "Israel’s" recent failed attempt at regime change in Iran, is unambiguously indicative of a flailing entity on the verge of extinction. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Zionist lawfare operation facing collapse?

  • Opinion
  • 13 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS