Burkina Faso’s military regime reburied the country’s most famous revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, on Thursday. Although some members of the former president’s family attended his funeral in the capital, Ouagadougou, his widow, Mariam, and children boycotted the service, according to the BBC.
Sankara was laid to rest near the site of his assassination in 1987. But, the murdered army captain’s direct family had stated that they did not want him reburied at the “crime scene,” preferring a location that would “appease hearts.”
Sankara became the president of Burkina Faso in 1983 after participating in a coup that removed Col. Saye Zerbo from the presidency and subduing Maj. Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, who was also struggling to take the nation’s top position. While president, Sankara quickly became known as Africa’s Che Guevara. In addition to implementing left-wing and anti-imperialist policies, he was a staunch opponent of corruption.
Sankara’s life, however, was cut short on October 15, 1987, when he and 12 other soldiers were assassinated and buried in an unmarked grave by military forces. He was only 37 at the time. Sankara’s erstwhile buddy, Blaise Compaoré, ascended to power in a coup following his killing.
A large statue honoring Sankara can also be found at his new burial location. However, Sankara’s family had stated that he should have been reburied in a public garden or the cemetery where his ashes were unearthed when the 2015 investigation into his assassination was initiated, according to the BBC.
“We believed and continue to believe that it is fundamental that a space be found that allows us to gather and appease hearts, and not divide us and increase resentment,” the statement released on behalf of his family said.
However, the military government said that the burial site was chosen due to “national interest” and “security imperatives.” During the funeral, the 12 soldiers who were murdered alongside Sankara were also reburied.
After succeeding Sankara, Compaoré ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years. After his choice to extend his tenure, the 72-year-old was eventually deposed in a popular uprising in 2014. He went to Côte d’Ivoire, where he has been in exile since since.
Compaoré has likewise consistently denied any role in Sankara’s assassination. But, in April of last year, a military court in Burkina Faso sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment for the murder of his predecessor.
The West African country has been battling to contain ongoing Islamist insurgencies that have resulted in significant displacement. The country’s general level of insecurity was the main cause behind the January 2022 military coup that deposed Burkina Faso’s democratic government.