The High Court of Koupéla in Burkina Faso delivered its verdict on February 24 in a corruption case involving magistrates, lawyers, and customs officers. The defendants were prosecuted for corruption, money laundering, and embezzlement.
The trial, which opened on January 16 in the correctional chamber of the High Court of Koupéla, about 100 kilometers from Ouagadougou, resulted in the conviction of several senior magistrates and customs officials. They were accused of receiving undue benefits in exchange for a dismissal in favor of customs officers prosecuted for embezzlement.
Alban Balanoë Somé was sentenced to 36 months in prison, including 18 months firm, for corruption of a public official and illegal disclosure of the identity of a protected witness. Mohamed Traoré, Urbain Medah, and Sandaogo Antoine Kaboré received sentences ranging from 2 to 12 months firm for corruption and complicity. All these convictions are accompanied by fines of between 2 and 3 million CFA francs. Urbain Medah, known for having presided over the trial of the assassination of Thomas Sankara in 2021, received a 15-month prison sentence, two of which were firm.
Three customs officers, Oumarou Yameogo, Jonas Yameogo, and Zindi Nikiéma, were also found guilty of corruption and each sentenced to 15 months in prison, two of which were firm. The magistrate Jean Jacques Wend-Panga Ouedraogo, the lawyer Arno Sampebré, and the customs officer Seydou Traoré were acquitted for lack of evidence.
During the hearings, several magistrates denounced their conditions of arrest, citing "kidnapping," "sequestration," and "torture". Their lawyers pointed out procedural irregularities. Despite these challenges, the court considered the charges sufficiently established to pronounce these sentences, in a context of a declared fight against corruption within the Burkinabe judicial system. The ruling military junta, led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré since 2022, claims to be inspired by the struggle of Thomas Sankara, former Burkinabe leader, who had made the fight against corruption his priority. These convictions come in a context where the junta is regularly accused of suppressing any critical voices.
