Ibrahim Traoré pays tribute to Thomas Sankara
For young people, who make up 75% of Burkina Faso's population, Sankara's legacy lives on in the policies of the current president
Photo via Capitaine Ibrahim TRAORÉ/X
Thirty-eight years after the assassination of Pan-Africanist leader Thomas Sankara, Burkina Faso’s president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, paid tribute to the father of the August 1983 Revolution in the Sahel country.
In a message to the nation, the president praised Sankara’s legacy, describing him as a man whose “commitment and struggle for a dignified, sovereign, and prosperous Burkina Faso remain unmatched.”
Traoré’s message was read by the country’s prime minister, Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, on the morning of Wednesday, October 15, during a ceremony at the Thomas Sankara mausoleum and memorial, where the revolutionary leader and former head of state (1983–1987) was killed in 1987 and where his remains now rest.
Shortly after the message was read, authorities announced that on the first Thursday of every month, starting at 4 pm, a military ceremony will be held at the Memorial to keep the torch of Thomas Sankara’s revolution burning.
“I renew my tribute to this worthy son of Africa,” Traoré said in a message posted on X.
Tributes to Sankara
Every year on October 15, Burkina Faso and the entire world commemorate the tragic massacre that took the life of Sankara, a martyr in the struggle for African emancipation who inspires the current measures to break with the West implemented by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The legacy of the African “Che Guevara,” as he became known, was portrayed in the new documentary by Brasil de Fato, “Sahel: La Patrie ou La Mort”, released on September 16, the day that marked the second anniversary of the formation of the AES.
Thomas Sankara was assassinated in 1987 in a conspiracy led by his then colleague Blaise Compaoré, who became president of the country until 2014, with the support of the French government.
Traoré recalled today that the patriotism and endogenous development promoted by Sankara remain relevant today.
“His actions and his words are an inexhaustible source of inspiration and a compass that guides the Popular Progressive Revolution toward a new Burkina Faso,” Traoré concluded.
This article was translated from an article originally published in Portuguese on Brasil de Fato.
