PresidentofBurkinaFaso from 1987 to 2014. icon.Compaoré'slegacy is complex, with some crediting him with stability and development, while others criticize his records on human rights, corruption and wealth inequality. Exactly 38 years ago, BurkinaFaso lost its revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara . The country'sformerpresident was killed during a coup d'état that also took the lives of 12 of his comrades on October 15, 1987. On April 6, 2022, BurkinaFaso’s ex-PresidentBlaiseCompaoré was tried, convicted and sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for murder. A supporter ofBurkinaFasopresidential candidate Roch Marc Christian Kabore at a rally. Photograph: Ahmed Ouoba/AFP/Getty Images. In the often troubled politics of West Africa, BlaiseCompaoré, theformerpresidentofBurkinaFaso, is a quaint figure, almost of another era.It is common knowledge that BlaiseCompaoré heavily sponsored the Forces Nouvelles and gave them safe haven in BurkinaFaso. After 27 years of BlaiseCompaore, the people ofBurkinaFaso were set to wait patiently until November 2015. But Mr Compaore's attempt to force a constitutional change sparked near unanimous outrage. BurkinaFaso (...) holds significant diplomatic influence in West Africa. Over the past two decades under BlaiseCompaore’s rule, the country has become a key player in the resolution of regional crises. Six years after his exile, the shadow ofBurkinaFaso’s ousted PresidentBlaiseCompaore hangs over Sunday’spresidential election, as nostalgia has set in for ‘peace’ in the country which has since been undermined by a grinding militancy.