Burkina Faso’s military leader, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, been inaugurated as president just over three weeks after he led a coup to topple elected head of state, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
In a televised ceremony, Damiba swore an oath before the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the Constitution”, the nation’s laws and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the junta.
Damiba was dressed in camouflage uniform and a red beret, and wore a sash in the colours of Burkina Faso’s national flag. The press, but no foreign representatives, attended the ceremony in a small room at the offices of the Constitutional Council.
On January 24, 2022, Damiba, 41, led disgruntled officers to force out Kabore following public anger over his handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency.
Last week, the Constitutional Council formally determined that Damiba was president, head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces.
The move confirmed an announcement by the junta on January 31, 2022, that Damiba would be appointed to those roles for a transitional period, and be assisted by two vice presidents. The junta suspended the constitution immediately after taking power on January 24, 2022, but later reversed this in the face of pressure from neighbours in West Africa demanding a return to civilian rule.
The military authorities have promised to re-establish “constitutional order” within a “reasonable time” but the issue of a date for elections still remains unsettled.
On February 5, 2022, the junta announced that a 15-member commission will be tasked with “drawing up a draft charter and agenda, together with a proposal for the duration of the transition period”.
Burkina Faso is one of the world’s poorest countries and one of the most volatile in Africa. The landlocked Sahel state has experienced repeated coups since gaining independence from France in 1960 and is battling a brutal jihadist insurgency.
As a result of the jihadist insurgency, more than 2,000 people have died, according to reports gathered by local officials, while the country’s emergencies agency says more than 1.5 million people have fled their homes.
Coups in Burkina Faso
On January 3, 1966, the army seized power following strikes and demonstrations against austerity. President Maurice Yaméogo, in power since independence, was replaced by Chief of Staff Aboubakar Sangoulé Lamizana. In 1974, following a major political crisis, the constitution was suspended and the Assembly dissolved.
1980 – On November 25, after 14 years as Head of State, President Sangoulé Lamizana was overthrown. A Military Committee for Recovery for National Progress (CMRPN), led by Colonel Saye Zerbo, took power. But on November 7, 1982, a Council for the Salvation of the People (CSP), chaired by Major Jean-Baptiste Ouedraogo, overthrew Colonel Saye Zerbo. Captain Thomas Sankara, who played an important role in the coup, was appointed Prime Minister on January 10, 1983.
1983 – On August 4, Captain Thomas Sankara, who had been removed from power in the meantime, became head of a National Council of the Revolution (CNR) and established a democratic and popular revolution. The coup was led by his brother in arms, Captain Blaise Compaoré.
Later, there was a bloody military coup that took place on 15 October 1987. It was organized by Captain Blaise Compaoré against incumbent far-left President Captain Thomas Sankara, his former friend and associate during the 1983 upheaval.
The trial of the assassination of Thomas Sankara, which is still the subject of a cult, opened in October 2021 in Ouagadougou. On October 31, 2014, Blaise Compaoré was ousted by the street for wanting to change the Burkina Faso constitution in order to remain in power.
READ ALSO: Afreximbank Acts As Active Bookrunner To Nigeria’s Bank Of Industry’s 5-Year Debut Eurobond Issuance
