The leader of the most recent coup in Burkina Faso, General Gilbert Diendere has been handed over to Burkinabe authorities after he sought sanctuary in the Vatican embassy, sources in the transitional government said on Thursday. This development comes on the heels of the reinstatement of Burkina Faso’s interim president, Michael Kafango.
Earlier, Prime Minister Yacouba Isaac Zida said the government provided guarantees to the Vatican embassy that the former putschist’s life would be respected if he was handed over. Zida said he would be handed to judicial authorities. In line with this, a military source said Jean Baptiste Ouedraogo, the former president of Burkina Faso, escorted him to the capital Ouagadougou’s main gendarmerie camp in a heavily armed convoy.
On Monday, The army’s chief of staff accused Diendere and Compaore’s former foreign minister Djibril Bassole of obstructing attempts to render the elite unit defenseless and of seeking support from foreign forces and Islamist radicals. However with Diendere in custody there may finally be an end to coups within the government and a clearer fate for the upcoming elections. Also considering the fact that Burkina Faso recently introduced some exclusion policies ahead of the elections, this would make it a lot easier for the government to control any retaliation in the run up to presidential polls. Two candidates close to ejected President Blaise Compaore were dismissed by Burkina Faso’s constitutional council.
The committee rendered more than 40 candidates ineligible for the legislative elections on the grounds they may be party to “anti-constitutional change damaging to the principle of democratic transition”. For anyone who supported his efforts to remain in power would likely pose a threat to economic upliftment at the peak of Burkina Faso’s revolution. The West African country is determined to rid their countries of sit-tight leaders who manipulate the constitution in order to remove term limits and remain in power; thereby paving way for political and economic leaders who will break the trend of tampering the constitution for personal gains.
The coup which started on September 17, 2015 was carried out by the members of the presidential guard, also known as the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP), who were not happy that the former president’s time in office was not extended. After the detention of the transitional head of state, prime minister and other cabinet members, there was a lot of pressure on Diendere and his army. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon condemned the coup and the African Union suspended Burkina Faso’s membership. West African diplomats also seized the assets of coup leaders and barred them from travelling.
