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July 22, 2006
Murder suspect freed in the Zongo case
The BBC and UN report that the former head of Burkina's presidential guard, Marcel Kafaondo, has had charges dropped against him for the murder of journalist Norbert Zongo (pictured), due to lack of evidence.
Kafando had already been convicted for the murder of David Ouedraogo, the chauffeur of the president's brother. It was this murder that Zongo was investigating when he was killed in 1998. He and three others were found burned and bullet-ridden in Zongo's car, 100km from Ouaga. The official investigation in 1999 into Zongo's murder concluded that Zongo's death was for political reasons linked to his research, and six presidential bodyguards were identified as suspects.
Zongo was the country's most well-known and outspoken journalist, and publishing manager of the Burkina national newspaper l'Independant. His murder, and the apparent impunity of those behind it, sparked country-wide protests with street demonstrations by students, and vocal criticism by the press. After an initial official crackdown on the demonstrations, a more conciliatory approach was tried by the presidency, and the long-term benefit of the case has been a response of the government to public pressure to increase democracy and transparency in the country's institutions.
The "Zongo case" has continued, 8 years later, to stir people's emotions in Burkina. Especially in his home town of Koudougou, the anniversary of his death is remembered and marked, and this has kept a degree of pressure for justice. The latest ruling is being noted with disappointment and frustration, and leaves a lack of closure on a key wound for a country wanting to move forward into a new future.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina norbert zongo journalism justice
Posted by Keith at July 22, 2006 08:24 AM