Former Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaoré has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former President Thomas Sankara

Burkina Faso’s former President Blaise Compaoré has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former President Thomas Sankara by a military tribunal in the country.

Sankara was assassinated during a coup led by his friend and comrade-in-arms Compaoré on October 15, 1987.

Two other main suspects were also handed life imprisonment sentences. They are Gilbert Diendéré, one of the leaders of the 1987 putsch and leader of the 2015 coup, as well as Hyacinthe Kafando, leader of Compaoré’s guards at the time. Blaise Compaoré has been in exile in Cote d’Ivoire since 2014.