Abolished in 2018, will capital punishment make a return to Burkina Faso? The military regime in power in Ouagadougou wishes to reinstate the death penalty in its Penal Code, a government source said on Saturday, confirming comments made the day before by the Minister of Justice Rodrigue Bayala.
“This is being considered. It is up to the government to discuss it, to then make a proposal to the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT, appointed by the junta) for adoption,” this source indicated, adding that “there is no no date set for this proposal.” “It is the Council of Ministers which decides on its agendas,” she said.
Upcoming changes to the Penal Code
“Of course, there is the question of the death penalty which is being discussed and which will be introduced in the draft Penal Code,” declared the Minister of Justice on Friday during the adoption by the assembly of a bill establishing works of general interest. The minister also mentioned future modifications to the Penal Code “to go in the direction of the vision and instructions given by the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traoré”, in power since a coup d’état perpetrated at the end of September 2022 .
According to Amnesty International, the last execution recorded in Burkina Faso dates back to 1988. The death penalty was abolished under the civilian regime of Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, thirty years later. Last October, Amnesty indicated that it had observed an increase in death penalty sentences in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023: “recorded executions have more than tripled and recorded death sentences have increased by 66%”.
Kenya and Zimbabwe towards abolition
According to the NGO, 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have abolished the death penalty “for all crimes, while two other countries have repealed it for common crimes only.” Additionally, “bills to abolish the death penalty for all crimes have been introduced in Kenya and Zimbabwe.”
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