![]() ![]() He led an unprecedented vaccine program against yellow fever and meningitis that saved the lives of over 50,000 children annually he led the campaign to plant over 10 million trees to halt a deforestation disaster and his government banned genital mutilation, forced polygamy, and forced marriages. Previously known by its French colonial name, Upper Volta, it became known as Burkina Faso (“Land of Incorruptible People”) when he became president. One of the most symbolic such moves was the renaming of the country. His four years in power completely changed the lives of the people of Burkina Faso.Ī long-time admirer of the Cuban Revolution, he led the country away from the ongoing misery of the domination of French imperialism. T-shirts with his image still appear all over Africa on demonstrations, picket lines, and protests, but of course he is much less celebrated in the West.Ĭapitaine Thomas Sankara became president at the age of 33 in 1983 after a popular uprising freed him from prison following disputes with a previous government. He is less well known than Che, but his legacy across Africa is immense. “Africa’s Che Guevara,” as he was known, was shot down in a coup d’etat by soldiers who were rebelling against his socialist transformation of Burkina Faso, a landlocked and poor remnant of the French colonial empire in West Africa. Thirty-five years ago this month, one of Africa’s greatest revolutionaries was murdered by former comrades. People gather for a wreath laying ceremony in front of the building where Thomas Sankara was assassinated in 1987 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, April 6, 2022, after the verdict of the trial of his assassins.
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