Burkina Faso's military leaders turn to 'Africa's Che Guevara' to rally struggling country

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — The military rulers of Burkina Faso have turned to a man once known as ''Africa's Che Guevara" as a way to rally a country struggling to defeat extremists and turning away from former Western allies.

Hundreds of young people gathered over the weekend in the capital, Ouagadougou, for the opening of a mausoleum for legendary leader Thomas Sankara.

''I'm the driver of the revolution!" one young man exclaimed with delight, sitting behind the wheel of the jeep that Sankara used during his presidency decades ago.

A charismatic Marxist leader who seized global attention by defiantly declaring his country could rely on itself, Sankara came to power in 1983 at the age of 33 after he and former ally Blaise Compaore led a leftist coup that overthrew a moderate military faction. But in 1987, Compaore turned on his former friend in a coup that killed Sankara in the capital — and later became president himself.

An anti-imperialist legacy

Nearly four decades after his death, Sankara is being celebrated in Burkina Faso, a nation of 23 million people once known for its bustling arts scene and vibrant intellectual life — including Sankara's anti-imperialist and pan-African legacy.

''When I stepped inside the mausoleum, I felt the revolution,'' said Timoté, a 22-year-old who said he came because of what he heard about Sankara at home and at school.

Sankara's mausoleum, designed by Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning architect Francis Kéré, has been the project of current military leader Capt. Ibrahim Traore.

Since taking power during a coup in 2022, Traore has presented himself as the new Sankara. He has named one of the main streets after the revolutionary leader, elevated him to the rank of Hero of the Nation and revived revolutionary slogans such as ''Fatherland or death, we will win!'' in most of his speeches.

The mission of the mausoleum is "to keep the flame of the revolution alive and to remind the world of Capt. Thomas Sankara's fight to break the chains of slavery and imperialist domination,'' Burkina Faso Prime Minister Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo said as he read Traore's statement.

An unstable Burkina Faso

Despite promising to fight the security crisis that pushed them to stage a coup, Burkina Faso's military leaders have struggled to deal with the worsening crisis. According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.

Human rights groups say the military leadership has installed a system of de facto censorship, crushing critics, while many have been killed by jihadi groups or government forces.

As people flocked to Ouagadougou to celebrate Sankara, life elsewhere in the country reflects a different reality.

''We can go out for a bit in the city center, but with caution,'' said one student from Dori, the capital of the northern region, echoing concerns about restrictions on free speech and movement.

The student spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being arrested.

Security concerns have permeated every aspect of life outside Ouagadougou. Even the price of beer has skyrocketed as more places become inaccessible to traders.

''There are two Burkina Fasos,'' said a teacher from the east, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons. ''One where the streets are deserted at night, and another that comes alive to enjoy the cool evening air.''