THE THOMAS SANKARA MURDER CASE

While growing up in the remote village of JINJINI, near Berekum, in the 1960s, one Akan
proverb that I found very difficult to understand was: /I Ennye da a wobeto boo atraFirawna
mpafebesi wo” (Literally translated it is “it is not the day that you will throw a stone across

                                                                  River Volta that you will get an ache )

The morale of this proverb is that you should be extra very careful about whatever you do,
because the effects and consequences will last for a very long time.

Subsequently I came to Achimota School in Accra and whiles studying history, I came across a
strange bizarre story about King Charles I and his son King Charles II in England.

The bottom line was economics.

Under the land tenure system, land belonged to the Royalty and all landlords owed allegiance
to the king, paying taxes, so that the tenant farmers naturally sold their corn expensive on the
market.

Businessmen imported corn from France, cheaper on the market so the Royal Family got
Parliament to impose taxes on French corn, and businessmen went up in arms. They seized
majority in Parliament, overturned the taxes, and accused King Charles I of crimes against
humality and the King was executed and his head was cut off by the executioner. His son fled to
Scotland.

They were led by Oliver Cromwell.

After 20 years, Oliver Cromwell died and England had no leader. There was agitation for the
restoration of the monarchy and Charles II was brought from Scotland to be Charles II, King of
England, subject to the will of Parliament.

Initially it was all smiles jokes and camaradiere. But slowly time changed. Charles II got all those
involved in the trial and execution of his father arrested, tried for high treason and were each
HANGED to death.

The dead body of Oliver Cromwell was exhumed, symbolically tried symbolically condemned
and symbolically HANGED

Reader, it is not the day you will throw a stone across River Volta that you will get an ache!!!

The year was 1983. Flight Lt Jerry John Rawlings was in his revolutionary honeymoon in Ghana.
Suddenly we heard in the news that two young officers, very close paddies, Captains Thomas
Sankara and BliaseCompaore have seized power in Upper Volta and launched a Revolution.

They changed the name of the Country from “Upper Volta” to “BURKINA FASO” and started
series of revolutionary reforms calculated and designed to transform the society, to eliminate
hunger suffering and poverty.

Four years on and the revolution was in high glee. One hot afternoon, Captain Thomas Sankara,
ready to go to a meeting of the Revolutionary Council was suddenly surrounded by soldiers,
who sprayed him with bullets, to death, just like that.

His friend and deputy, Blaise Compaore, aged under 40 years, took over, as leader of Burkina
Faso and soon turned the engine of progress back to the same old story, and for 27 years,
Compaore held sway becoming one of the richest leaders in the world. He graduated from a
military ruler to a civilian constitutional President, manipulating everything just to keep himself
in power.

In his attempt to get constitutional amendment to enable him stand for a third term as
President, the people revolted and set fire to Parliament.

Come and see – 2014 – a President Blaise Compaore, in flight for dear life. I remember a
cartoonist in one of the periodicals picturing Blaise Compaore in suit being chased, by the
people.

All that was 7years ago – 2014 to 2021. Have things changed in Burkina Faso? What happened
to the Compaore business empires? His hotesl? His cars? His businesses?

As the days keep going by people are asking questions – who killed the flamboyant affable
young leader, Thomas Sankara? Why was he killed? Was it not murder?

Very well

Come and explain yourself,

And so by popular opinion, a Court has been set up, scheduled to open in October 2021, more
than 30years after the event, to put on trial several accused persons, led by Ex President Blaise

Compaore, to explain their role or otherwise in the killing of Thomas Sankara……………………….. .

Reader, it is not the day you will throw a stone across River Volta that you will develop an ache.

You should be very very careful in whatever step you take in life – WHATEVER step – because
tomorrow you will be called upon to answer questions.

Here in Ghana, there are still questions to be answered why were those Generals executed in
1979? What offence did they commit? Commander Joy KoblaAmedume took a bank loan of Gh
50,000 (todays 5 Ghana Cedis) to buid a house, and for that he was executed, and you think you
can walk free or rest in peace in your grave?

How about those judges who were abducted from their homes and killed in cold blood?

All those disappearances?

How about the death of President Atta Mills? Was he strangled to death at the castle before

                                                                                                                                being sent to 37? Who is the principal brain behind Atta Mills death? ……………………………………………………………………….. .

Reader, believe it or not, 200 years after the death of Queen Antoinette of France, a High Court
in Paris, France gave permission in 2004 and the grave of the Queen was opened and a
pathological examination found evidence of mercury in her hair, confirming a long held

                                                                                              suspicion that she was murdered through poison    .

How about that?

Reader, you should be extra extra careful in anything you do, because you will definitely have
to answer questions either tomorrow or next week.

Come, October 2021, the attention of the whole world will be in Burkina Faso on the Thomas

Sankara murder case …………………….. holala!!!

Written by Nkrabeah EffahDartey