Coup leader Paul Henri Damiba takes over as Burkina Faso's head of state, restores constitution

Burkina Faso already knows its new leader. Following in the footsteps of countries such as Guinea, Mali and Sudan, the former French colony plunges from Monday into a period of transition led by the military just a week after witnessing on television how a group of officers staged a coup against the government of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, in power since 2015, confirming rumours of an imminent uprising.

The military junta will be led by Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba (Ouagadougou, 1981). Anointed as president, the lieutenant colonel heads the Patriotic Movement for Salvation and Restoration (MPSR), the body charged with managing the political impasse that opened up after the overthrow of Kaboré. Trained in the United States and France, Damiba was a member of Blaise Compaoré's Presidential Security Regiment, which ruled the country for nearly three decades, and thus maintains connections to the former regime.

Burkina Faso's recent history has been shaped by coups d'état. Since independence in 1960, the army has dominated political life for 48 years, and the counter will not stop in the coming months, even though the military junta has partially restored the constitution and published a Fundamental Act. The 37-point document will regulate the laws until the establishment of a new transitional Magna Carta.

In the text, the coup leaders recognise equality before the law, freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of movement, inviolability of the home, judicial independence, freedom of the press and the right to education. But they also recognise the MPSR as the backbone of the country, with powers in the areas of security, defence and the economy. And Damiba holds the title of president, head of state and supreme army commander.

The partial restoration of the constitution came hours after the African Union's announcement. The organisation joined the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and suspended Burkina Faso's participation "until the effective restoration of constitutional order". This decision was economically damaging for the country, and preceded the dispatch of a commission to Ouagadougou to establish a dialogue with the coup leaders.

In a nation accustomed to coups d'état, the last coup experience dates back to 2015, months before Kaboré's victory at the polls. General Diendéré, who also formed part of former president Campaoré's praetorian guard, together with a group of mutineers, suspended the transition process that had been underway since the ousting of the former president in the 2014 uprisings. The previous regime re-emerged, albeit unsuccessfully on this occasion.

After a week of uprisings, the army led by Damiba managed to subvert the weakened political order in Burkina Faso, which has been lethargic due to the growing terrorist threat since 2015. The proliferation of jihadist groups in the northern part of the country, connected to the Sahel, fuelled insecurity and left thousands of Burkinabe under the violent subjugation of jihadists, community militias and even the army.

The decree issued by the military junta has also dismissed the army chief of staff, Gilbert Ouédraogo. This is a sign of the obvious disrepute in which the military leadership surrounding President Kaboré is immersed. The General Staff has promoted various strategies to combat jihadism, all of them insufficient. And the troops have denounced the scarcity of resources.

Kaboré, who served as prime minister, president of the National Assembly and president of the then hegemonic party, the CDP, during Blairism and later occupied a social democratic space, never paid enough attention to military matters. And he proved incapable of tackling the problem.

It is a reason for the population in the capital and elsewhere in the country to celebrate the president's deposition. It is a time when Burkinabe society prioritises security over democratic principles. However, a large majority of the population considers these principles compatible with a reinforcement of the national security strategy. This is a general trend that tends to be repeated in other countries in the region.

A Burkinabe court on Monday announced the postponement of the trial for the historic assassination of the charismatic President Thomas Sankara. The left-wing revolutionary icon, known as the 'African Che Guevara' for his ambitious plans for transformation and his pan-Africanist outlook, came to power in Burkina Faso with the backing of Blaise Compaoré, among others, and soon gained international fame and respect. But he came to a dramatic end.

The personalisation of the country under his figurehead raised hackles among the military junta he led. And on 15 October 1987, a commando under Compaoré's orders shot Sankara and 13 of his close associates dead in the capital. His body was dismembered and buried in an anonymous grave. Today, 35 years later, the trial has been suspended until further notice after the civilian side referred to its irregularity due to the suspension of the Constitution following the coup d'état of 24 January. A Constitution that, albeit partially, is now functioning again.