Thomas Sankara (born December 21, 1949, Yako, Upper Volta [now Burkina Faso]—died October 15, 1987, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso) was a military officer and proponent of Pan-Africanism who was installed as president of Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso) in 1983 after a military coup. He held that position until 1987, when he was killed during another coup.

Sankara’s Roman Catholic parents wanted him to be a priest, but he opted for a military career instead. In 1970, at the age of 20, Sankara was sent for officer training in Madagascar, where he witnessed a popular uprising of students and workers that succeeded in toppling Madagascar’s government. Before returning to Upper Volta in 1972, Sankara attended a parachute academy in France, where he was further exposed to left-wing political ideologies. In 1974 he earned much public attention for his heroic performance in the border war with Mali, but years later he would renounce the war as useless and unjust.

By the early 1980s, Burkina Faso was being rocked by a series of labour union strikes and military coups. Sankara’s military achievements and charismatic leadership style made him a popular choice for political appointments, but his personal and political integrity put him at odds with the leadership of the successive military governments that came to power, leading to his arrest on several occasions. In January 1983, Sankara was selected as the prime minister of the newly formed Council for the Salvation of the People (Conseil de Salut du Peuple; CSP), headed by Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo. This post provided him with an entryway into international politics and a chance to meet with leaders of the nonaligned movement, including Fidel Castro (Cuba), Samora Machel (Mozambique), and Maurice Bishop (Grenada). Sankara’s anti-imperialist stance and grassroots popularity increasingly put him at odds with conservative elements within the CSP, including President Ouédraogo. Sankara was removed as prime minister in May and arrested once again. On August 4, 1983, Blaise Compaoré, Sankara’s close friend and fellow army colleague, led a group that freed Sankara, overthrew the Ouédraogo regime, and formed the National Council of the Revolution (Conseil National de la Révolution) with Sankara as its president.

Sankara declared the objectives of the “democratic and popular revolution” to be primarily concerned with the tasks of eradicating corruption, fighting environmental degradation, empowering women, and increasing access to education and health care, with the larger goal of liquidating imperial domination. During the course of his presidency, Sankara successfully implemented programs that vastly reduced infant mortality, increased literacy rates and school attendance, and boosted the number of women holding governmental posts. On the environmental front, in the first year of his presidency alone 10 million trees were planted in an effort to combat desertification. On the first anniversary of the coup that had brought him to power, he changed the country’s name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso, which means roughly “land of upright people” in Mossi and Dyula, the country’s two most widely spoken indigenous languages.

Despite the great strides that were made, there was growing dissent in the country, partly because of economic problems and opposition from traditional quarters to some of Sankara’s more progressive social policies. His administration gradually lost popular support, and internal conflict within his government grew as well. On October 15, 1987, Sankara was assassinated in a coup led by Compaoré and two others, and Compaoré went on to rule Burkina Faso until popular unrest led him to resign in 2014.

Decades later, in 2021, 14 people were finally charged in relation to Sankara’s death, including Compaoré; he refused to participate in the proceedings and, having been in exile in Côte d’Ivoire since 2014, would be tried in absentia. A military tribunal held the long-awaited trial, which began later that year on October 11. When the verdict was announced on April 6, 2022, Compaoré and nine others were found guilty of having been complicit in Sankara’s murder, while one, Hyacinthe Kafando, was found guilty of the murder. Compaoré, Kafando, and another defendant, Gen. Gilbert Diendéré, were sentenced to life in prison, while eight other defendants received lesser sentences. Three of the defendants were acquitted.

Collections of Sankara’s speeches, published posthumously, include Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution 1983–1987 (1988, reprinted 2001), Women’s Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle, 2nd ed. (2007), and We Are Heirs of the World’s Revolutions: Speeches from the Burkina Faso Revolution, 1983–87, 2nd ed. (2007).

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Kaunda’s father, who was from Nyasaland (now Malawi ), was a schoolteacher; his mother, also a teacher, was the first African woman to teach in colonial Zambia. Both taught among the Bemba ethnic group in northern Zambia, where young Kaunda received his early education, completing secondary school in the early 1940s. Like the majority of Africans in colonial Zambia who achieved some measure of middle-class status, he also began to teach, first in colonial Zambia and in the middle 1940s in Tanganyika (now Tanzania ).

Struggle against colonial rule

Kaunda returned to Zambia in 1949. In that year he became interpreter and adviser on African affairs to Sir Stewart Gore-Browne, a liberal white settler and a member of the Northern Rhodesian Legislative Council. Kaunda acquired knowledge of the colonial government as well as political skills, both of which served him well when later that year he joined the African National Congress (ANC), the first major anticolonial organization in Northern Rhodesia. In the early 1950s Kaunda became the ANC’s secretary-general, functioning as its chief organizing officer, a role that brought him into close contact with the movement’s rank and file. Thus, when the leadership of the ANC clashed over strategy in 1958–59, Kaunda carried a major part of the ANC operating structure into a new organization, the Zambia African National Congress.

Kaunda became president of the new organization and skillfully used it to forge a militant policy against the British plan for a federation of the three central African colonies—Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland. African leaders opposed and feared any such federation because it would tend to place ultimate power in the hands of a white minority of settlers. Kaunda employed the Zambia congress as an instrument for executing what he called “positive nonviolent action,” a form of civil disobedience against the federation policy. His campaign had two major results: first, the British government modified the federation policy and eventually agreed to discard it; second, the imprisonment of Kaunda and other militant leaders elevated them to the status of national heroes in the eyes of the people. Thus, from 1960 on, the nationwide support of Zambia’s independence movement was secured, as was too the dominant status of Kenneth Kaunda in that movement.

Kaunda was released from prison by the colonial government on January 8, 1960. At the end of that month he was elected president of the United National Independence Party (UNIP), which had been formed in October 1959 by Mainza Chona, a militant nationalist who was disenchanted with the older ANC. The UNIP enjoyed spectacular growth, claiming 300,000 members by June 1960. In December 1960 the British colonial authorities invited Kaunda and several other UNIP leaders to participate in discussions on the status of the three colonies at a conference in London. Early in the following year the British government announced that formal decolonization of Zambia would commence.

The first major elections leading to final decolonization were held in October 1962. The constitutional proposals upon which the election was based provided the European settlers in Northern Rhodesia with a disproportionate share of the votes. Yet the two major African parties—the UNIP and ANC—gained a majority of the votes. The UNIP was the winner, gaining 15 of the 37 seats in the new Legislative Council.

The UNIP’s success was attributed overwhelmingly to the leadership of Kaunda. He had been astute both in allaying the European settlers’ fears that an African regime would unfairly disregard their interests and in quelling the factionalism prevalent in large sections of the country’s African population. It was this same skill that enabled Kaunda to negotiate further constitutional advances, and in 1964 Zambia was granted independence with Kaunda as its president.

How influencers dey use deepfakes, celebrities and misinformation glorify Burkina Faso junta leader Ibrahim Traoré

Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images Wetin we call dis foto, Pro-Ibrahim Traoré content, including a flood of AI-generated videos, don reach social media users for Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya

Author, Chiagozie Nwonwu, Mungai Ngige, and Olaronke Alo Role, BBC Global Disinformation Unit

17 May 2025

Smoke dey rise from one building as Beyoncé, dressed in combat gear, ride on one armoured vehicle. Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Burkina Faso military leader, dey di music video too, and fire gun. “God protect Ibrahim Traoré in di battle for di pipo way, break chains from di empire hold,” di song lyrics tok.

Yet dem no really be Beyoncé or Ibrahim Traoré. Di video na deepfake, a type of content wey dem dey use artificial intelligence create to look real.

Hundreds of AI-generated videos portray Oga Traoré as pan-African hero, many wey carry false information, bin don dey flood social media platforms across Sub-Saharan Africa since late April.

Di trend dey far-reaching, wit social media users on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp, and YouTube from kontris like Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya, dey tout Oga Traoré as example for oda African leaders. Some influencers call demsefs “pan-Africanists” and build on disappointment wit dia own goments.

Wetin we call dis foto, Nigeria, Kenya dey among di top 10 kontris

Wetin we call dis foto, Mentions of Traoré on X increase for May 2025

Authentic versus coordinated support

Di 37-year-old military junta leader wey take power of di West African nation for 2022 present imsef as champion of anti-imperialism, criticise wetin e see as di interference of Western powers, particularly France, while e dey position Russia as a strategic ally.

Under Oga Traoré, Burkina Faso don experience democratic decline, wit reports say dem dey detain journalists and critics and dey drafted into di army. One recent report by Human Rights Watch accuse goment forces say dem kill at least 100 civilians for one attack for March.

But Oga Traoré many public appearances and portrayal of “simple” leader don help build a powerful image wey resonate both internationally and for Burkina Faso, draw crowds of supporters to di streets of capital Ouagadougou. Some describe am as a “reincarnation” of Thomas Sankara, di iconic former military leader of Burkina Faso wey dem assassinate for 1987 following one coup.

Observers say many young Africans don tire wit di status quo and dia goments and dey sympathetic to some of Oga Traoré key messages like to dey question ties wit di West. E dey known as skilled orator and dey media-savvy, wey also help explain why some view am as leader to emulate.

While concrete support of Oga Traoré across Africa dey, “di increase in AI-generated content wey dem dey use to drive dis narratives suggest say e no dey organic,” Eliud Akwei, one senior investigative analyst for Code for Africa, one nonprofit wey dey investigate disinformation on di continent, tok.

Some AI-narrated videos bin pretend say dem be professional news reports, even though dem carry misleading claims about Oga Traoré or im goment. One video wey claim say one of Oga Traoré guards “dey offered $5 million to kill am” don generate over 1 million views. Though Burkina Faso don report coup attempts against Oga Traoré since e take power, no evidence to support say dis happun.

One particularly popular video wit 4.5 million views tell di story of one fictional incident on a plane wia Oga Traoré, no dey recognised by one flight attendant, dem ask am to leave im seat in business class in favour of one French businessman. Although dis specific video dey labelled as “work of fiction”, multiple YouTube channels bin retell di story as if e be one incident wey actually happun.

Dr Lassane Ouedraogo, Assistant Professor of Communications from Ohio University wey come from Burkina Faso, say “some of di social media posts na wishful thinking. Some of dem na true facts, but rendered wit plenti exaggeration”.

Meanwhile, deep-fake music videos don emerge as new tactic in di campaign, wey feature celebrities like Selena Gomez and Rihanna alongside Oga Traoré. Over 40 dey uploaded to YouTube within one single week.

We bin speak to di Nigerian creator of one deepfake video wey feature Traoré alongside singer R. Kelly, wey draw 1.8 million views.

“Di only reason I do am na di ‘Ibrahim Traoré’ effect,” 33-year-old Oguji Nnamdi Kenneth wey define imsef as a fan of di West African leader tok. E say di video earn am $2000 through YouTube monetisation. “Na purely AI. I think say pipo suppose know. I no dey here to deceive anyone.”

Wia dis foto come from, X Wetin we call dis foto, Pro-Traoré accounts share clips from anti-goment protest for Belgrade as marches in support of Traoré

Gold reserves

Pan-Africanist social media accounts bin first start to boost Oga Traoré’ profile wen e bin fly to St. Petersburg for di Russia-Africa Summit for July 2023. Pictures of am wit Russian President Vladmir Putin and im speech dey widely circulated online, including by Russian state media, wey don notably boosted Oga Traoré’ profile for di region.

Anoda spike of Traoré support and propaganda start for dis year early April, afta allegations dey raised for di United States.

During one US Senate hearing, di head of Africom, General Michael Langley, accuse President Traoré say e use di kontri gold reserves to protect im regime. Dis bin spark one wave of pan-Africanist social media posts wey claim say di US aim to remove am from power. Multiple posts bin carry false information.

On 22 April, one account wit almost one million followers on X bin post say Langley tell di United States Senate say “di President of Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Traoré, na threat to im pipo”.

But wetin Oga Langley tok, according to di transcript of di hearing wey di BBC see, na say di proceeds from gold reserves for Burkina Faso be “just one exchange to protect di junta”.

Data from Code for Africa show say afta Oga Langley statement, one network of 165 Facebook accounts use identical messaging to amplify one false claim say Russian president Vladimir Putin bin send special forces to protect Oga Traoré against di US, and e generate over 10.9 million views in just 10 days.

In reality, Russian soldiers already dey Burkina Faso for counterterrorism operations, wey no relate to di US comments.

On X, anoda user bin post one clip of a large gathering of pipo. “Look at di crowds of pipo wey dey march in France for Ibrahim Traoré and Burkina Faso sovereignty,” di user write.

Wia dis foto come from, Getty Images Wetin we call dis foto, Russian state media don notably boost Oga Traoré profile for Africa

One reverse search of one scene from di clip show, however, say one of di buildings inside di video na Orthodox church St. Mark, for Belgrade, Serbia. Di video portray one anti-goment protest for Belgrade for March 2025.

Di shared video get 3,000 likes and no dey identified on di social media platform as false.

From im home for Ghana, blogger Sulemana Mohammed bin post di same video on Facebook, and allege say e show one pro-Traoré demonstration for South Africa. Even afta di BBC say no be true, Oga Mohammed kontinu to stand by im claim.

“E just dey so funny wen pipo make am look like wetin we say about our leaders no be true,” e tok.

How ZRP Mandizvidza Military-Coup Is Just Another Hopewell Chin’ono Anti-Geza-Fiction

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By Farai D Hove | Analysis | Late last year 2024, a group of varakashis (online bullies-pictured) known for authoring so called Essays4ED, ran out of stories to write following the resignation of Nelson Chamisa from the Mahere-fested CCC party. They also struggled to popularise their “we need new leaders,” demand for Chamisa to die off totally.

The varakashis

Fast forwards to 2025, a new crowd-pull has emerged: there are 5 young ‘heroes’ who’ve begun popping out of the dark, every time Emmerson Mnangagwa’s lost popularity, and all of them are famous over a police arrest story making them very popular for alleged bravery. The five are:

1. Talent Rusere, a fake professor and fake lawyer, running a fake South African lawyers’ organisation. Rusere managed to deceive media houses that he is genuinely exposing state corruption together with Mr Hopewell Chin’ono, in two countries, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. He was arrested soon after his stint.

⁠2. Young hero number 2 is an award winning ‘inventor,’ calling himself Maxwell Chikumbutso.

Chikumbutso is a fake inventor running a fake name name. His real name is Sangulani Chikumbutso and he popped out of the dark on 28 January 2025 soon after Mnangagwa had lost popularity to Constantino Chiwenga. Chikumbutso claimed that he is fixing the economy by introducing free electricity and cars that run forever without charging. His story was believable because of an arrest claim that Mnangagwa announced saying he was poisoned and arrested for his invention.

⁠ 3. The third young person is a little known assistant inspector Simbarashe Mandizvidza who at the time when Mnangagwa was losing popularity, he popped out to play a Geza hero character, who’s removing Mnangagwa. He was arrested soon after this and the police failed to produce a single picture on the day as is usual with all such high profile arrests.

4. The fourth young person is Emmerson Mnangagwa himself who at the time that Mandizvidza was making his proclamations, he (Mnangagwa) was struggling to prove that his name is in Rhodesia prosecution documents as a convicted young man over bombing a train. Documents prove that there is no one with his name who bombed any train in 1965, or at any time in the 16 year Chimurenga-Umvukela-Rhodesia-Bush War.

5. The 5th person is an award boasting journalist, called Hopewell Chin’ono who has continued his practice of falsely accusing the civil society of tension with the army(2018-2025).

Hopewell Chin’ono’s accusations of the civil society that they are causing “tension” with the Zim Military

When Mnangagwa lost popularity to Chiwenga in March 2025, he generated false claims that a group of soldiers stole firearms in Mutare. He also claimed that there were bombings at various premises, incidents that did not happen at all. These were insider-stagings by state operatives. As a result of Chin’ono’s posts, 94 activists have been arrested and been slapped with charges over participating in the activities Chin’ono doctored.

The ‘hero’ number 3, has been arrested after being accused of stealing a police car, in a fashion similar to the Chin’ono claims he published on 27 March 2025. Hopewell Chin’ono was reached for comment. Emmerson Mnangagwa was reached for comment. Talent Rusere was reached for comment and he pleaded saying that him and Hopewell Chin’ono are being persecuted over their activism.-ZimEye

Chin’ono’s post on 27 March 2025.

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A charismatic 37-year-old, Burkina Faso’s military ruler Capt Ibrahim Traoré has skilfully built the persona of a pan-Africanist leader determined to free his nation from what he regards as the clutches of Western imperialism and neo-colonialism.

His message has resonated across Africa and beyond, with his admirers seeing him as following in the footsteps of African heroes like Burkina Faso’s very own Thomas Sankara – a Marxist revolutionary who is sometimes referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara”.

“Traoré’s impact is huge. I have even heard politicians and authors in countries like Kenya [in East Africa] say: ‘This is it. He is the man’,” Beverly Ochieng, a senior researcher at global consultancy firm Control Risks, told the BBC.

“His messages reflect the age we are living in, when many Africans are questioning the relationship with the West, and why there is still so much poverty in such a resource-rich continent,” she said.

After seizing power in a coup in 2022, Traoré’s regime ditched former colonial power France in favour of a strong alliance with Russia, that has included the deployment of a Russian paramilitary brigade, and adopted left-wing economic policies.

This included setting up a state-owned mining company, requiring foreign firms to give it a 15% stake in their local operations and to transfer skills to Burkinabé people.

The rule also applied to Russian miner Nordgold, external, which was given a licence in late April for its latest investment in Burkina Faso’s gold industry.

As part of what Traoré calls a “revolution” to ensure Burkina Faso benefits from its mineral wealth, the junta is also building a gold refinery and establishing national gold reserves for the first time in the nation’s history.

However, Western-owned firms appear to be facing a tough time, with Australia-headquartered Sarama Resources launching arbitration proceedings against Burkina Faso in late 2024 following the withdrawal of an exploration licence, external.

The junta has also nationalised two gold mines previously owned by a London-listed firm, and said last month that it planned to take control of more foreign-owned mines.

Enoch Randy Aikins, a researcher at South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, told the BBC that Traoré’s radical reforms had increased his popularity in Africa.

“He is now arguably Africa’s most popular, if not favourite, president,” Mr Aikins said.