Pambazuka News 651: SPECIAL ISSUE: Thomas Sankara and inventing Africa's future: 26 years later

Although murdered by retrogressive forces opposed to Burkina Faso’s true liberation and that of Africa, Thomas Sankara’s revolutionary ideas and initiatives remain a powerful inspiration to those individuals and movements that are dedicated to struggles for social justice everywhere

The sharpness of Sankara's mind and the courage of his convictions are very apparent in this forceful to heads of state and government attending the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, now African Union) summit in Addis Ababa in 1987. The chains of foreign debt still remain a troubling issue for Africa

This short shows the neglected grave of Thomas Sankara, and compares to how heroes are celebrated elsewhere: the grave of Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi's place of cremation

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Thomas Sankara was a visionary. He was very ambitious and wanted the Burkinabe revolution to bear immediate fruits for his people, and he paid no attention to the political intrigues of the time, which culminated in his assassination. His single-minded determination to serve his people is a lesson for all who aspire to public office

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