Bodies of the victims of October 15, 1987 including those of former junta leader Thomas Sankara were exhumed in May 2015 for DNA tests as part of the judicial investigation into their assassination.The families of Captain Sankara and his 12 companions sent a letter to the current leader of the transition, Ibrahim Traore, on Wednesday 4th January 2023.

In the note, which was seen by APA on Thursday, they chose the place and date of the burial of their loved ones, assassinated on 15 October 1987, during a coup that brought Blaise Compaore to power.

“We would like to inform you that the families have unanimously chosen the site of the Martyrs’ Monument as the place of burial as the final resting place of their loved ones,” the letter reads.

During a meeting with the families on Wednesday, December 28, 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traore expressed the wish to organize the martyrs’ funerals “as soon as possible.”  

The dates of January 10 or 12, 2023 had been floated, according to our sources.

However, “we need you to grant us a minimum delay of three months that we consider necessary so that all the families can organize themselves to be present at the burials, especially those living outside Burkina Faso. This request is intended to allow everyone to accompany our dead with dignity,” the victims’ relatives insisted.

In March 2015, the transitional government had authorized the exhumation of the remains of Thomas Sankara which was done in May of that year. 

This had made it possible to rekindle the judicial process that led, in April 2022, to the life sentence of former President Blaise Compaore, exiled since October 2014 in Abidjan.

 Guard commander Hyacinthe Kafando, on the run since 2016, and General Gilbert Diendere, one of the army leaders during the 1987 putsch were also received the same sentence.