Former Burkina Faso President, Bliase Campaore has been handed a life imprisonment jail sentence by a military tribunal in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso in absentia.
The ousted Former Leader of the French colony in his absence from the tribunal was handed the jail sentence for his involvement in the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara.
Bliase Campaore is in exile and is believed to be in neighboring Ivory Coast. Two others, Hyacinthe Kafande and Gilbert Dienderse were also given life sentences.
Thomas Sankara was executed in 1987, four years after had taken over the reigns of power through a military Coup d'etat in 1983 with his friend Bliase Campaore. Bliase Campaore remained in power for the next twenty-seven years, until he was also ousted from political power in 2014 in a military takeover.
Ballistics experts who testified during the trial confirms that Thomas Sankara was shot in the chest seven times by his assailants.
Thomas Sankara is a hero in the French speaking country and is known for his revolutionary leadership style and his advocacy and insistence of self-sufficiency from Western powers.
At a young age of 33, he became an avid campaigner aganst corruption and invested heavily in educating citizens of Burkina Faso and also invested in health.
He led the charge in getting the name of the French colony changed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso and also initiated the the rollout of mass vaccination against polio virus, polygamy and female genital mutilation.
Scores of citizens and supporters of the former leader have converged to hold a possession at the spot he was assassinated where a statue has been erected in his honour.
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