The Assassination of Thomas Sankara: The Betrayal of Africa’s Brightest Star
On the evening of October 15, 1987, gunshots echoed across Ouagadougou. Inside a small government building, a young revolutionary lay in a pool of blood, his dream for Africa shattered. His name was Thomas Sankara, and his crime was wanting a free and independent Africa.
Sankara was no ordinary leader. At just 33 years old, he seized power in Burkina Faso and immediately declared war, not with guns, but with radical change. He refused to accept foreign aid, arguing that "He who feeds you, controls you." He banned the extravagant lifestyles of government officials, making them drive small cars and fly economy class. He sold off government Mercedes Benz cars and replaced them with the cheapest model available a Renault 5.
Unlike many African leaders who grew rich while their people starved, Sankara lived modestly. His salary was $450 per month, and he owned just a guitar, a fridge, and four bicycles. He refused foreign loans, saying Africa must stand on its own feet, and he made Burkina Faso self sufficient in food production in just four years. But his boldest fight was against France and the Western powers that had crippled Africa with debt and puppeteer governments. He exposed how Africa was being looted, how corrupt African leaders were slaves to their Western masters, and how the continent could never progress under foreign control.
He even pushed for African nations to refuse to pay colonial debts, arguing that the money was never used to help Africans in the first place. This made him too dangerous. His speeches shook the foundations of neocolonial rule. France and its allies watched closely, knowing that Sankara had to be stopped before his ideas spread across Africa. His greatest mistake, however, was trusting his closest friend, Blaise Compaoré. The man who had fought by his side, dined with him, and called him a brother would be the one to put the final bullet in his dream.
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