Author: Thomas Sankara

THOMAS SANKARA was a military captain and President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. Regarded by many as captivating and a true figure of revolution, he is commonly referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara” and he believed in Africa’s self-reliance. Sankara seized power in a 1983 coup at the age of 33. He launched one of the most ambitious programmes for social and economic change ever attempted on the African continent. He worked towards the expulsion of colonialism and its effects in Burkina Faso. His foreign policies were centred on anti-imperialism, rejecting all foreign aid and nationalising all land and mineral wealth. Some of his domestic policies included preventing famine, prioritising education, fostering public health, empowering women, and establishing road and rail construction programmes. However, some of his policies alienated the interests of a number of people, which included the small but powerful Burkinabé middle class. As a result, he was assassinated in a coup d’état led by the French-backed Blaise Compaoré on 15 October 1987.