Burkina Faso Dismisses Ex-President Damiba, 14 Officers From The Army For Conspiracy Against State Security

The former transitional president in Burkina Faso, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Damiba, who led the country from January to September 2022, and fourteen other officers have been dismissed from the armed forces.

This decision, made official by decrees signed by the transitional president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, was made public on Monday evening.

They were dismissed for “misconduct deemed particularly serious,” including actions “harmful to military dignity and reputation.”

According to the decree dated October 30, 2024, the charges include “intelligence actions with a foreign power and terrorists” aimed at “favouring their enterprises against Burkina Faso.”

Among the officers dismissed are Lieutenant Colonel Évrard Somda, former Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie; Colonel Bamouni Didier, former Commander of National Theatre Operations (COTN); and Magistrate Commander Pousbila Zorma, former military prosecutor of the Ouagadougou Military Tribunal. Most of those dismissed are reportedly already detained on charges of “conspiracy against state security.”

This development follows President Traoré’s October 5 address on a national radio where he said that his Transitional Government was in talks with Togolese authorities for the extradition of Damiba, whom he accused of attempting to destabilise his regime by planning attacks, including the August 24, 2024, attack on Barsalhogo, where several people were killed.

Speaking on state television Monday, Traoré commented on the country’s challenges, stating, “Making a revolution means facing many challenges… and the pressure has mounted on the battlefield during October.”

He assumed power on September 30, 2022, following a coup against Damiba, who had himself taken power in January 2022 after overthrowing President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré.

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