Burkina Faso’s ex-leader Blaise Compaoré has received a life sentence for his role in the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara a military tribunal ruled on Wednesday.
Sankara was gunned down at the age of 37 along with 12 others during the 1987 coup d’état that brought Compaoré to power.
Compaore was charged in absentia along with his former head of security Hyacinthe Kafando, who was also sentenced to life imprisonment.
“The court finds Blaise Compaoré and Hyacinthe Kafando guilty of attack on state security, complicity in murder and concealment of a corpse,”the tribunal said in its ruling.
Compaore ruled for 27 years before being ousted in another coup in 2014 and fleeing to Ivory Coast.
