Sankara's tomb vandalised in Ouagadougou

The tomb of Thomas Sankara, the "father of the revolution" in Burkina Faso, who ruled from a coup in 1983 until he was killed in 1987, has been vandalised, witnesses said Friday. The epitaph on the cement tomb, which read "Comrade Captain Thomas Sankara (1983-1987)" and was painted in the national colours of red, green and yellow, was completely destroyed. Located at Dagnoen, in the eastern suburbs of the capital Ouagadougou, the tomb is a place of pilgrimage for Sankara supporters at each anniversary of his death on October 15, 1987. No details of the desecration were given by the municipal services in charge of cemeteries. "It's a scandal," the president of the Thomas Sankara Foundation, Jonas Hien, told AFP, calling for an inquiry. "The desecration of a tomb is unacceptable, even incomprehensible." "Even dead, they attack him," said a Sankara admirer, Eleazar Berewoudougou, 36, at the tomb, blaming "cowards" for the attack. On August 4, 1983, aged 33, Captain Sankara seized power in the then Upper Volta, which he renamed Burkina Faso (Land of Upright Men). He died in a coup perpetrated four years later by his own number two, Blaise Compaore, who has ruled the impoverished landlocked west African country ever since. Once known as "Africa's Che Guevara", the Marxist leader's land redistribution and literacy policies made him popular at home. He is also remembered for decisions such as replacing the government's fleet of Mercedes with the cheapest Renault cars available, banning 1st class tickets for government flights and lowering his own salary.