Yesterday marked exactly 31 years since Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara was assasinated.
Sankara was a humanist, feminist and ecologist who led his country from 1983 until his assassination in 1987 at the age of 37.
His voice was notable in the fight against imperialism and neo-colonialism. He established programs for social and economic change on his continent and fought tirelessly for African self-reliance.
We remember and celebrate this worldwide icon whose yearning for change would lead to his death during a social demonstration on October 15, 1987.
Assassination
On 15 October 1987, Sankara was killed by an armed group with twelve other officials in a coup d'état organised by his former colleague Blaise Compaoré.
Deterioration in relations with neighbouring countries was one of the reasons given, with Compaoré stating that Sankara jeopardised foreign relations with former colonial power France and neighbouring Ivory Coast.
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