On March 27, 2022, Alassane Bala Sakande, president of Burkina Faso’s former ruling party, the People’s Movement for Progress (MPP), was arrested at his home in Ouagadougou by police and taken to the Paspanga police base. “He stands reproached for remarks he made at the news conference of his party… held on 24 March,” stated his lawyers, Antoinette Ouedraogo and Dieudonne Willy, per AFP. Sakande had criticized the conditions of ex-President Roch Marc Christian Kabore’s house arrest, declaring, “For us this is not a house arrest… President Kabore is in detention,” citing restricted visits and communication.
Context of the Arrest
Sakande, former president of the National Assembly until the January 24, 2022, coup led by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, demanded Kabore’s immediate release during the MPP’s press conference. Kabore, ousted amid public anger over a jihadist insurgency, was under house arrest with limited access to family and no phone use. “He is only allowed one hour with his children,” Sakande noted. The arrest followed his remarks, with lawyers reporting that gendarmes had monitored his home since March 26. Sakande was released later that evening after interrogation, with no charges filed, per burkina24.com.
Political and Regional Reactions
The United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS had called for Kabore’s release, with West African envoys reporting he was “holding up well” after a visit in March 2022. “The conditions of his house arrest had recently been hardened,” Sakande claimed, alleging effective detention. The MPP condemned the arrest as an attempt to curb “political activism,” per guardian.ng, fearing a broader crackdown on the former regime. Analyst Siaka Coulibaly, however, viewed it as an isolated incident tied to Sakande’s comments on the military, not a wider witch-hunt.
Burkina Faso’s Transition
The coup, driven by frustration over jihadist violence that displaced 1.5 million by March 2022 (UNHCR), led to the dissolution of the National Assembly, where Sakande served from 2017 to 2022. A transitional assembly was installed on March 22 under Damiba’s junta, signaling a shift to military-led governance. “If there are restrictions on… political parties, it should be brought to everyone’s attention,” the MPP stated, per guardian.ng. Sakande’s brief detention highlighted tensions between the junta and the MPP, with fears of further political suppression.
Ongoing Implications
By late March 2022, Sakande’s release eased immediate concerns, but the incident underscored the junta’s sensitivity to criticism. “The MPP n’est pas dans le collimateur des putschistes,” Coulibaly told Jeune Afrique, suggesting no mass arrests targeted the party. Yet, the event fueled debates about freedom of expression, with the MPP’s internal divisions—Sakande’s leadership contested by figures like Simon Compaoré—weakening its position post-coup. The junta’s focus on security over political freedoms raised questions about Burkina Faso’s democratic transition, with ECOWAS monitoring developments closely.
