Burkina: President Ibrahim Traoré lays the first stone of the President Thomas Sankara Mausoleum

The President of the Transition, Captain Ibrahim Traoré laid, this Sunday, October 15, 2023 in Ouagadougou, the first stone of the Mausoleum of President Thomas Sankara, in homage to the father of the revolution assassinated ago exactly 36 years old.

The President of the Transition, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, chaired this Sunday, October 15, 2023 in Ouagadougou the commemoration of the 36th anniversary of the assassination of Captain President Thomas Sankara.

On the occasion, the Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traoré laid the foundation stone of the President Thomas Sankara Mausoleum.

Well before the installation, the Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo handed over to the Head of State the file for the construction project of the infrastructures of the Isidore Noël Thomas Sankara Memorial, among which is mausoleum.

According to Minister Ouédraogo, ‘this ambitious and revolutionary project aims to safeguard, preserve and promote the political legacy of the
father of the August 1983 revolution.’

According to him, it is designed ‘to materialize this important period of our nation and serve as a catalyst for a socio-economic transformation commensurate with the current ambitions of our country’.

On the Memorial site, ‘around fifteen infrastructures are expected including the Sankara Tower 87 meters high and the Mausoleum in homage to the father of the revolution and his companions in misfortune, a cable car connecting this space of memory to the urban park Bangr weogo as well as the green belt of the city of Ouagadougou,’ explained the minister in charge of culture.

The minister stressed that “the project includes a component promoting the ideals of the father of the August 1983 revolution, notably through intellectual and artistic productions and awareness-raising activities.”

‘Through its various actions, the project aims to strengthen national unity around an ideal of endogenous development in line with the aspirations of Burkina Faso and African youth,’ he
said.

In the opinion of the minister, ‘the expected changes will be visible through the improvement of the contribution of culture and tourism to the national economy and citizen mobilization around development issues and the quest towards assumed sovereignty’ .

The architect in charge of the work is the Burkinabè Diébedo Francis Kéré, absent from the commemoration because he was traveling to Tokyo in Japan to receive the Imperial Premium Prize which rewards remarkable contributions to the development, promotion and progress of Arts. Minister Ouédraogo made ‘a special mention’ to him.

In his absence, the model of the project he designed was unveiled by the consulting architect of the Thomas Sankara International Memorial Committee (CIMTS), Souleymane Zerbo, manager of the SATA Africa firm.

According to this, the mausoleum is 400 m2 and it will house the 13 graves, that of President Thomas Sankara and those of his 12 companions in misfortune.

‘It (the mausoleum) can accommodate more than three people who
enter the forward system and who exit through another exit to continue their walk in the Memorial park,’ he said.

He clarified that in the mausoleum, the president’s tomb is in the middle. It is surrounded by 12 other tombs, 6 on the right and 6 on the left.

Source: Burkina Information Agency