Zoungrana-Barry Defamation Case Postponed to November 24

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso – The legal case initiated in mid-September by former Minister of Territorial Administration, Colonel Boukaré Zoungrana, against journalist Newton Ahmed Barry, has been postponed to November 24, 2023. This information was disclosed by the AIB (Agence d’Information du Burkina).

According to Burkina Information Agency, this is the final postponement after previous adjournments on October 20 and November 3. The case, revolving around allegations of defamation and slanderous denunciation, was initially filed by Colonel Zoungrana on September 12, 2023. Judicial police officers, tasked with notifying the complaint, reportedly found Mr. Barry’s home, which appeared uninhabited.

The complaint stems from a post made by Mr. Barry on his Facebook page three days before the filing. In this post, he alleged that Colonel Zoungrana had been dismissed by the government for advocating dialogue with terrorists, citing the soldiers’ exhaustion. This accusation prompted Colonel Zoungrana to take legal action against Barry for defamation and slanderous denunciation, leading to the ongoing court proceedings.