The government of West African country, Burkina Faso has ordered the remains of former president Thomas Sankara to be exhumed.
[contextly_sidebar id=”ndEqAjF0nmSO205k7NxaR6cnAGPovPbz”]Sankara, who was killed in a military coup in 1987, was buried immediately by former President Blaise Compaore who led the takeover.
Compaore resigned after violent protests in the country against his administration in October 2014.
The former president was reported to have blocked a request by Mr Sankara’s family for his remains to be exhumed.
He had always rejected claims that he was involved in Sankara’s killing, insisting that the “facts are known” and he has “nothing to hide”.
The news will come as good news to Sankara’s supporters, who had long demanded proof that the remains were that of the ex leader, as they can be formally identified now.
Miriam Sankara, the former leader’s widow, told the BBC the family had not asked for the government’s help – and had yet to be officially contacted.
“We, the family… cannot exhume the corpse. We want the judiciary to do it. And if they do it, it should be in the context of a judicial process that we have always demanded, in the context of finding out the truth and the helping in the search for President Sankara’s murderers.” she said
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EdKwakofi