Burkina Faso to swear in junta leader as president

Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba
Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba

Burkina Faso military leader Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba is due to be sworn in as the country’s president, just over two weeks after soldiers ousted President Roch Kaboré in a coup.

Last week, the Constitutional Council, “having taken note” of Mr Kaboré’s resignation, declared Mr Damiba, a 41-year-old army officer, president of Burkina Faso.

State television says the inauguration will be broadcast live from the Constitutional Council building on Wednesday morning.

Mr Damiba led soldiers to oust Mr Kaboré, who had faced months of protests over his failure to stem a jihadist insurgency in the north and east of the country.

On Monday, Mr Damiba travelled to the north of the country to meet soldiers and a government militia fighting jihadists, state TV reported.

Editor's Comment
A step in the right direction

It has only been a month since the newly elected government, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), took power, and there are already a lot of changes. Across different ministries, ministers are hard at work. Following heavy rainfall and storms that hit Francistown recently, the Minister of State Presidency, Moeti Mohwasa, made a commitment that government will assist those affected by the heavy rains. Mohwasa, when addressing the media in...

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