13/10/2026
SANKARA SAID, “IT’S ME THEY WANT.” THE GUNFIRE FOLLOWED. BURKINA FASO LOST ITS REVOLUTION.
October 15, 1987.
Come, let me take you back to a Thursday afternoon in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, when one of Africa’s most influential revolutionary leaders walked into a meeting and never came out alive.
His name was Thomas Sankara.
He was only 37 years old.
Sankara had come to the Conseil de l’Entente headquarters for a meeting with members of his team.
It was supposed to be an ordinary meeting, but outside, armed men were already moving against him.
Then came the gunfire.
Sankara’s driver and bodyguards were killed. Inside the building, the people gathered for the meeting heard the shooting and realised something terrible was happening.
According to the testimony of the sole survivor, Alouna Traoré, Sankara rose and told his colleagues:
“Stay there! It’s me they want.”
He walked towards the door.
Before he could get far, the gunmen shot him dead.
They then killed the people who had gathered with him.
Twelve of his companions died alongside the Burkinabè leader.
Alouna Traoré survived the massacre and later told the world what happened.
But here is the part that makes this story even more painful.
The man who would take power after Sankara’s death was Blaise Compaoré, his former comrade and close political ally.
The two men had been part of the military leadership that brought about the revolution in 1983.
Sankara became president, while Compaoré remained one of the most powerful figures around him.
Yet, four years later, their partnership ended in bloodshed.
After Sankara’s assassination, Compaoré took power and ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years, until a popular uprising forced him from office in 2014.
For decades, Sankara’s family and supporters demanded justice.
Then, in April 2022, a military court in Burkina Faso sentenced Compaoré to life imprisonment in absentia for his role in Sankara’s murder. Several other defendants were also convicted.
Think about that for a moment.
A young president who spoke about African independence, challenged foreign domination and called for a different future for his people was killed by men linked to the political and military circle around him.
Sankara was not without controversy.
His government was revolutionary, but it was also criticised for restricting political freedoms.
His story deserves to be examined honestly, including both his ambitions and the consequences of his rule.
But one fact remains: on October 15, 1987, his life was cut short by assassination, and Burkina Faso entered a new political chapter.
A REVOLUTIONARY WAS KILLED. HIS COMRADE TOOK POWER. JUSTICE TOOK DECADES.
Thomas Sankara’s story reminds us that the history of Africa is not only about the men who ruled.
It is also about the ideas they left behind, the people who suffered, and the questions that remain long after the gunfire has stopped.
Sammy the African Archivist
