Burkina Faso unveils 'new' Thomas Sankara statute

18 Mai 2020

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, May 18 (Infosplusgabon) – A giant statute of Thomas Sankara, who is described as the father of the Burkinabe revolution, was unveiled on Sunday in Ouagadougou.

The statue, which was produced Burkinabe artist Jean-Luc Bambara and first erected on 2 March 2019, was rejected and returned to the workshop for non-resemblance of Sankara.

The statute has been erected at the site of the "Council of Understanding",  where Captain Sankara was assassinated with 12 of his companions on 15 October 1987 in a coup that brought his military colleague Blaise Compaoré to power.

The 5-meter bronze work, which shows Sankara in a military uniform with a raised fist, is sponsored by the Thomas Sankara International Memorial Committee.

A complaint related to the killing of Sankara and his companions was lodged in 1997 under the regime of Compaoré but was dismissed. It was not until the insurrection of 30-31 October 2014 that the trial was reopened in 2015 by the transitional authorities.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/RTF/GABON2020

© Copyright  Infosplusgabon