Burkina Faso’s Military Regime Plans to Reinstate Death Penalty
Burkina Faso’s military government is considering reinstating the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018. The last execution in the country occurred in 1988, involving four individuals accused of attempting to overthrow then-President Blaise Compaoré. A government source confirmed that the proposal to reintroduce capital punishment will be discussed by the government and submitted to the Transitional Legislative Assembly for adoption. Justice Minister Rodrigue Bayala stated that the death penalty issue would be addressed in the upcoming draft of the criminal code, alongside other amendments reflecting the policies of the current regime under Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power in a coup in September 2022.
