The president of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara, and his 12 assassins will be reinterred at the Thomas Sankara Memorial in the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou, later this month, according to the transitional government there.
According to a statement released on Friday, this choice was made after discussions with the Armed Forces, the victims’ families, traditional and religious leaders, and the International Committee of the Thomas Sankara Memorial.
On May 25, 2015, the bodies of Sankara and his fellow members of the People’s Democratic Revolution (RDP) were excavated as part of a legal procedure to confirm the identity of the remains.
The anti-imperialist rebel, known as “Africa’s Che Guevara,” was assassinated in a coup in 1987 and was swiftly buried alongside 12 others.
During the tenure of his successor, Blaise Compaoré, who left government in 2014 amid street protests, permission for an exhumation was denied.
In lieu of his presence, Mr. Compaoré was given a life sentence for his involvement in Sankara’s murder.
Following conventional funeral customs, religious and military festivities will mark Sankara’s reburial.
