The government of Burkina Faso has frozen the assets of leaders of the recent failed coup d’état in the country on Saturday.
Gen. Gilbert Diendere, a strong ally of ousted President Blaise Campaore and leader of the elite Presidential guard, and some loyalists on September 16 detained Interim president, Michel Kafando; Prime Minister, Isaac Zida; and some important ministers in a move they later admitted was a coup.
However, pressure from both within and outside the country forced the coup plotters to have a rethink and free the detained leaders. Deindere later said he regretted his action.
State prosecutor Laurent Poda made the announcement freezing the failed coup plotters’ assets on Saturday, saying the move will apply to Diendere and 13 other individuals, as well as three political parties linked to Campaore.
The country was planning to conduct general elections on October 11, marking a return to democratic rule, a year after the ouster of Campaore who had planned to extend his 27-year rule by seeking to amend the nation’s constitution, before the failed coup.
According to Zida, the future of Diendere was still being considered but justice will be served after the conclusion of investigations.