Thomas Sankara: A Forgotten African Leader

 by Naome Dixon

 “Comrades, there is no true social revolution without the liberation of women.” 

Burkina Faso, meaning “land of upright men” was the name given to the county previously known as Upper Volta by Thomas Sankara in 1984. Thomas Sankara only held power, as president, for four years (1983- 1987) but within the relatively short time frame, he made significant differences to the material conditions of those living in Burkina Faso. He was a Marxist, who specifically had an interest in anti-imperialism work, seeing foreign aid as suspicious as, “he who feeds you controls you” and a Pan Africanist;  Pan-Africanist is an ideology that asserts that people of African descent have a shared common interest and they should be unified. These ideologies fed into his work as president, notably within his work with women’s liberation and uplifting the living conditions of the residents of Burkina Faso. 

 Studying in a military academy in Madagascar, there he was inspired by the revolutions within Madagascar against French imperialism; he educated himself in the field of socialism at this time.  Returning to his home country of Upper Volta, he began to climb the leadership ladder within the military, despite his left wing politics, due to his charismatic speaking style. By 1983 he was selected as the prime minister for CSP and this post allowed him an opportunity to engage with leaders on an international level (such as meeting Che Guevara). However, Sankara’s anti-imperialist ideology soon came at odds with the more Conservative wing of the CSP and he was taken out of the post and put on house arrest. In August that year, a coup took place against the ruling government, led by Sankara’s close friend, Blaise Compaoré (a figure who would eventually lead to his demise) and a new government was formed, with Sankara as president. 

Once in power, Sankara carried out his political agenda, from changing the colonial name of the country, to redistributing land from the feudal landlords to the peasants. He attempted to cut down corruption with the government, reducing the inflated government employee salaries and personally owning few assets (to public knowledge) apart from a fridge, bikes, a car and a few guitars. Thus arguably the altruistic approach differed massively to the previous ruling class of Upper Volta, which many of pocketed the public funds to line their own individual pockets. He ran a national literacy campaign, which increased the literacy rate within Burkina Faso from 13% in 1983, to 73% in 1987;  a move which showcased his dedication to education of the population as a whole. As president he also vaccinated 2.5 million children against yellow fever, meningitis and measles. This helped to combat the infant mortality rate, which was 20.8% prior to his presidency and fell to 14.5% during. 

Interestingly, he ordered the planting of over 10 million trees, which he was arguably ahead of his time in recognising the danger of climate change, specifically desertification. He warned his people, “The desert is at our gates, it’s already upon us, ready to engulf us”.  This policy action also fed into his Pan-African ideals, as it would have made the country be able to be self-sufficient from foreign aid and thus end the country’s poverty. This concept has perhaps been continued past his death via the African led  “Great green wall” which has been funded in 2021 via the Paris meeting; it is planning to try to plant trees in order to protect the sub-Saharan land. In addition, he refused foreign aid packages from the International Monetary Fund due to the strings attached to it. Thus, the tree planting plan was attempting to centralise food growth within the country, via helping to make the soil more fertile. In line with his anti-imperialist pan-African ideology, at the Organization of African Unity in July 1987, Sankara tried to persuade other African countries to collectively refuse to pay financial debts to the colonial powers. He states, “On the contrary, others owe us some things that no money can pay for. That is to say, the debt of blood”. This statement is in regards to the damage on the African collective and was the baseline argument for his ideological stance. 

Moreover, Thomas Sankara notably had placed a high emphasis on women's liberation, within his revolutionary work, an act not commonplace within many socialist regimes. He denounced the patriarchy as a, “male-imposed system of exploitation “ and in his book, “Women’s liberation and the African freedom struggle” he explores the problem with the socialisation of men upholding this system. His work towards women’s liberation was not done  just via words, he also enacted policies that helped to alter the material conditions of the women living in Burkina Faso. Within his first year of presidency, he established the Women’s union of Burkina, to give women an institutional framework to fight against the effects of the patriarchy.  He was one of the first African heads of states to appoint women to key political positions and actively recruit them to the military; thus encouraging women to become enrolled within the political process. On a more domestic level, he outlawed Genital Mutilation, forced marriages and polygamy; which were cultural signs of the patriarchy. 

However, as his presidency continued, Sankara became more and more authoritarian in his approach due to an increased level of criticism due to his anti-imperialism approach alienating the capitalist powers. This was reinforced by his crackdown on government corruption, which turned government officials against him. He banned trade unions and limited free speech via limiting the free press. These actions could have contributed to his murder in 1987, where another coup occurred. Recently, a landmark trial has been opened into his assassination and his friend and the next president, Blaine Compaore, was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2022 for his complicity in his murder. He currently resides in Ivory Coast and 14 other people have been charged with his murder. This court case has re-sparked many people's interest in Thomas Sankara throughout the African diaspora and beyond. 

In conclusion, while Thomas Sankara may be relatively unknown in the western world, his impact and legacy hold true to today, notably his pan-African beliefs and his focus on women's liberation which was relatively unusual for leaders within the global south and north. His dedication to women’s liberation and revolutionary action for the masses within Burkina Faso should not be overlooked. His words in his last days, “While revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered you cannot kill ideas” can be seen to ring true in his own legacy.