Ousted ex-President due to return to Burkina Faso

Blaise Compaoré, the former President of Burkina Faso, is expected to make a surprising return to his country this weekend – eight years after he was ousted following a popular uprising. The government of neighbouring Ivory Coast where he is in exile has confirmed the dramatic development. The news comes three months after a court sentenced Compaoré to a life sentence for his role in the assassination of his predecessor, Thomas Sankara in 1987. The two had been close friends and jointly seized power in 1983. A report on the Africa News site notes that Compaoré has been living in exile in Ivory Coast since he was ousted in 2014. There has been no official confirmation from the military junta which rules Burkina Faso about the former leader's return. Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba last month received former President Roch Marc Kaboré, whom he had overthrown ‘to ease the situation’.