In Burkina Faso, four officials sentenced to prison for embezzlement of public funds

Four Burkinabe officials found guilty of embezzlement of public funds, illicit enrichment and money laundering were sentenced, Tuesday, December 24, to sentences ranging from six to fifteen years in prison following a trial broadcast on television and on the radio. They were tried by the Ouagadougou high court.

The embezzled amounts are equivalent to 2.8 billion CFA francs (4.2 million euros). The four accused admitted to having diverted, in 2023 and 2024, funds intended to be used to care for vulnerable people or people affected by the jihadist violence which is bloodying the country. To do this, they imitated signatures on several hundred checks from the Public Treasury. However, they contested the amounts presented by the prosecutor, denouncing hierarchical superiors who would also have benefited from the dissipated funds.

The main accused, Amidou Tiegnan, account manager at the Ministry of Solidarity and Humanitarian Action, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Pétronille Ouédraogo, also an account manager, was sentenced to eleven years in prison. Salifou Ouédraogo and Philippe Bayoulou were sentenced to six and eight years in prison respectively. In total, the four officials must pay the Burkinabe state the sum of 8.5 billion CFA francs, i.e. the amount of fines and dissipated sums. The court also ordered the confiscation of movable and immovable property belonging to them.

The convicted officials have fifteen days to appeal, according to the president of the court, Abasse Nombré, before a committal warrant is issued against them. “If this hearing was made public, it seems to me that one of the objectives sought was to raise awareness among as many Burkinabés as possible” on “management of the public good”he commented.

The head of the military regime, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who came to power through a coup in September 2022, said he was making the fight against jihadists, corruption and bad governance his priorities. But the country continues to suffer violence from armed groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, which have left more than 26,000 civilian and military dead since 2015, including more than 13,500 since the coup. , according to the NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled), which identifies victims of conflicts around the world. Burkina Faso also has more than 2 million displaced people.