A tribunal has convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment Blaise Compaore the former Burkina Faso dictator for his role in the 1987 murder of Thomas Sankara the Pan African leader of Burkina Faso.

Sankara used political power to transform Burkina Faso, unlike most African misrulers who abuse power to entrench their rule while stealing millions or billions of dollars from the national treasury.

Sankara took power to the people and allowed the grassroots to participate in national politics which is normally preserved for the corrupt petite bourgeoisie ruling classes in Africa. 

After land redistribution production jumped up and Burkina Faso became food self sufficient within three years.

Through popular participation, schools, clinics, and decent housing were built. The Burkinabe built a rail line and planted millions of trees to halt deforestation.. 

Sankara fought patriarchy and abuses such as forced marriages and forced female genital cutting. He appointed women to important positions and recruited them into the national army.

Sankara's mantra was "Africa must produce what it consumes, and consume what it produces."

Sankara touched the THIRD RAIL of global imperialism when at the Organization of African Unity summit in July 1987 in Ethiopia he called on African countries to collectively renounce the burdensom billions of dollars in foreign debt preventing Africa from developing.

He said if Burkina Faso renounced the odious debt alone he would be killed but that imperialism couldn't assassinate 54 African presidents.

The African leaders betrayed Sankara by not adopting his proposal.

His prediction came true three months later when his former comrade Compaore, who had become an agent of French imperialism, overthrew Sankara and had him killed.

A court has convicted Compaore the murderer of Sankara. The Ivory Coast should revoke the citizenship he acquired after he was overthrown in 2014 and extradite Compaore to face justice in Burkina Faso.