Ouagadougou Court Of Appeal Declares Itself Incompetent
January 26, 2000


OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Ouagadougou criminal appeals court
said Wednesday that it was "incompetent" to hear a complaint lodged before
it over the death of President Thomas Sankara by his widow and children.

The court said the case did not come within its area of competence and
accordingly recommended to the family to pursue it in other courts.

The Sankara family was asking to be informed on the "real circumstances"
surrounding the death of Sankara who was killed, along with 13 of his
companions, in a coup d'etat on 13 October 1987.

"The criminal appeal court does not have the power to consider the case as
requested by Sankara's family," the counsel for the plaintiffs explained.

Reacting to the court decision, the chairman of the "Justice for Thomas
Sankara" international committee, Boniface Coulibaly, said that all efforts
would continue to pursue the killers.
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