Born on January 2, 1981, Paul-Henri Damiba, a lieutenant colonel, who was appointed to oversee security in Burkina Faso, has now become the leader of a military coup, overthrowing President Roch Kobore due to heavy protests by citizens in Ougadougou.
Costumed in military fatigues and a red beret, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba was presented as the president of the Patriotic Movement for Safeguard and Restoration (MPSR), which seized power on Monday, January 24, 2022.
“MPSR, which includes all sections of the army, has decided to end President Kabore’s post today,” a captain standing to the left of Damiba said, as he read a statement in the lieutenant colonel’s name on Radiodiffusion Television du Burkina (RTB).
The 41-year-old officer got promoted in December last year (2021) by Kabore to the commander of Burkina Faso’s third military region in what some analysts viewed as an effort by the harassed president to shore up support within the army.
The appointment to the strategic position followed an attack by fighters on a gendarmerie (a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population) post in the northern town of Inata, killing 49 military officers and four civilians.
Reports suggested that the troops, going without food provision for two weeks sparked anti-government protests and calls for Kabore to step down.
In his new post as President of the MPSR, Damiba proceeded to reorganise the military ranks, appointing new officers to key roles with the declared intent of battling the unrest.
As a contrast to Kabore, who was faulted by the army for the rising rebel violence, Damiba has sought to present himself as an expert in countering terrorism.
During his military academy days in Paris, he obtained a master’s degree in criminal sciences from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers.
Recently, he published a book titled, “West African Armies and Terrorism: Uncertain Responses?,” in which he analysed anti-terrorism strategies in the Sahel Region and their limits.
Again, he was part of the Regiment of Presidential Security (RPS) of former president Blaise Compaore, who was overthrown in 2014 after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest at plans to extend his tenure in office.
The unit was then dissolved by the transitional government, a move that caused resentment among some officers.
According to L’Observateur newspaper, Damiba quit the RPS in 2011, following a wave of protests and a violent army revolt.
He was later posted to the northeastern town of Dori as Commander of the 11th Infantry Commando Regiment (RIC) and the northern town of Ouahigouya as Commander of the 12th RIC.
In 2015, Damiba and other officers took part in an attempted coup that briefly overthrew the transitional government.
According to reports from Burkinabe media at the time, Damiba testified in a trial to be behind the coup, during a discussion about his ( Damiba) contacts with some of the putschists (people who believe that a government should be removed by force)
Following the events in 2015, Damiba left the country to pursue further military studies, according to L’Observateur newspaper. However, the newspaper did not provide further details of his study time abroad.
Upon returning to his motherland, he took the leadership of the 30th RCAS, a troop tasked with supporting Burkina Faso’s counterterrorism strategy.
On December 3, 2021, Kabore entrusted Damiba with protecting Ouagadougou from the threats posed by a religious rebellion.
Analysts have suggested Monday’s (January 24, 2022) coup started as a rebellion in a military base taking care of prisoners who were key figures involved in the 2015 coups.
READ MORE: Japan to Subsidize Oil Distributors to Keep Fuel Prices Lower
