Thomas Sankara, the late president of Burkina Faso, is to be buried where a monument to him already stands. Still, his family refuses to attend the event because they feel the location is “inadequate for all the burden it holds.”
The Sankaras said in their statement on Sunday that they “believed and continue to believe that it is fundamental that a space is found that allows to gather and appease hearts, and not to divide and increase resentment.” They called the location selected by the government “conflictual and controversial.”
In order to facilitate legal proceedings, the bodies of Sankara and his 12 comrades were excavated in 2015 from a cemetery on the outskirts of the nation’s capital, Ouagadougou.
Many people in Africa view Sankara as a pan-African symbol because of his progressive stance on agriculture, health, and education.
He assumed control during a coup in August 1983 and was assassinated four years later in another coup organized by his comrade in arms and friend, Blaise Compaoré, who ruled for 27 years.
His dictatorship was overthrown in 2014 due to a public revolt, and he fled to the neighboring Ivory Coast.
Following a long-awaited trial, a military court in Ouagadougou condemned him to life in jail in absentia in April for his part in the murder of Sankara and his colleagues.
