Widow of slain ‘African Che Guevara’ seeks answers

FRANCE 24

More than 27 years after African hero Thomas Sankara’s assassination, his widow, Mariam Sankara, tells FRANCE 24 she hopes the fall of former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré will pave the way for an investigation into his death.

The neat hedges and clean streets of the southern French city of Montpellier are thousands of miles and a world away from Burkina Faso, where protesters last month evoked the spirit of African hero and homeboy Thomas Sankara in their successful bid to oust longstanding Burkinabe strongman, Blaise Compaoré.

But it’s right here in Montpellier, on Allée Thomas Sankara – a street named after the iconic African revolutionary figure – that Mariam Sankara, his widow, welcomed the fall of Compaore.

“Like everyone else, I want this transition to run smoothly,” said Mariam Sankara in an interview with FRANCE 24. “This is not a coup d’état. The military may have taken over, but that doesn’t mean it’s a coup d’état because the people have won. It’s the people who fought this battle. The military are now there to ensure their safety.”

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