The 2015 coup leaders in judgment
On 16 September 2015, while Burkina Faso was preparing elections after the fall of former president Blaise Compaore, a group of soldiers from the presidential security regiment carried out a coup by taking President and Prime Minister of the transition hostage. The coup was led by General Gilbert Diende, former chief of staff of Blaise Compaore. But the attempt to overturn the institutions has failed and those responsible are called today to answer them in court.
Gilbert Diendéré, Djibril Bassolé, former head of Burkinabe diplomacy, Boureima kiere, former chief of staff of the transitional president, Abdoul Aziz Korogo, acting chief of the presidential security regiment, and Me Mamadou Traoré will have to start answering questions and rebuilding the facts.
"As far as these defendants are concerned, we enter a decisive phase in the process," observes Olivier Yelkouni, one of General Gilbert Dienderé's lawyers. Without saying it clearly, the lawyer continues, these people were "the brains or sponsors of the coup".
This "decisive" phase will begin with the interrogation of Commander Abdoul Aziz Korogo. He was the one who spoke on behalf of the soldiers of the former presidential security regiment during the negotiations to avoid a confrontation with the soldiers of the army.
"With the interrogation of these people, perhaps we will know what really happened during this coup," said one of the lawyers. The interrogation of the head of the former presidential security regiment is one of the most important phases of the process. Commander Abdoul Aziz Korogo is the "black box" of the coup, according to Me Guy Hervé Kam. And the lawyer hopes this "black box" will talk and help reconstruct the facts.
