Norbert Zongo
| Norbert Zongo | |
|---|---|
 His memorial in Sapouy | |
| Born |
July 1949 Koudougou, French Upper Volta |
| Died |
13 December 1998 near Sapouy, Burkina Faso |
| Pen name | Henri Sebgo |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Education |
University of Abidjan University of Lomé University of Yaoundé |
| Notable works |
Le parachutage (1988) Rougebeinga (1990) |
Norbert Zongo (July 1949 – December 13, 1998) was the publisher and editor of the Burkina Faso newspaper L'Indépendant. He was assassinated after his newspaper began investigating the murder of a driver who had worked for the brother of President Blaise Compaoré.[1]
Early life
Norbert Zongo was born in July 1949. In 1964, Zongo began writing his own newspaper in his high school, entitled La Voix du Cours Normal (English: The Voice of the High School), drawing his information from morning broadcasts by international radio stations. It was eventually banned for discussing political topics.[2]
Career
In 1988, Zongo published the book Le parachutage (English: The Parachute Drop), followed two years later by Rougebeinga, both fictional critical satires of corrupt African dictators.[3]
In 1991, Norbert Zongo, after working for the national daily paper Sidwaya, founded La Clef with Saturnin Ki. It was the first newspaper in Burkina Faso to openly criticism the government, with Zongo contributing under the pseudonym Henri Sebgo. The paper collapsed in 1993. That June, Zongo founded the weekly L'Indépendant, focused primarily on government corruption.[4] In 1996, he began looking into a series of fraud and graft cases involving several mining and manufacturing companies with ties to top political officials and President Blaise Compaoré's family, all of which severely embarrassed the government. The following year, Zongo directly criticized the Burkinabé parliament's decision to amend the constitution to allow Compaoré to seek a third term.[5]
Death and investigation
On December 13, 1998, Zongo's burnt body was found along with bodies of his brother Ernest Zongo, chauffeur Ablasse Nikiema, and Blaise Ilboudo, in a vehicle near Sapouy, some 100 kilometers south of the capital city of Ouagadougou. He was buried three days later in the capital. About 20,000 people followed the funeral procession from the morgue to the cemetery. The 10 kilometer journey took six hours.[6] An Independent Commission of Inquiry later concluded that Norbert Zongo was killed for purely political reasons because of his investigative work into the death of President Blaise Compaoré's brother Francois's driver, David Ouedraogo.
In January 1999, Francois Compaoré, President Blaise Compaoré's brother, was charged with murder and harbouring the body of the victim in connection with the death of David Ouedraogo, his chauffeur, who had died as a result of torture in January 1998. The charges were later dropped by a military tribunal after Francois Compaoré appealed against them.
In August 2000, five members of the presidential security were charged for the murder of Ouedraogo. Marcel Kafando, Edmond Koama and Ousseini Yaro, who are also suspects in the Norbert Zongo case, were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Edmond Koama died on January 4, 2001.
On July 19, 2006, charges were dropped against the only person charged in the Zongo case, Marcel Kafando. The judgment was called "scandalous" by Reporters Without Borders.
Legacy and commemoration
Many Burkinabé journalists accredit Zongo with being the first writer in the country to practice investigative journalism.[5]
- The singer Alpha Blondy wrote a song, Journalistes en danger, about the assassination of Zongo.
- In 2012, a memorial was erected at the Highway N6 (Ouagadougou - Léo) near Sapouy, at the site of his murder.
Citations
- ↑ Fessy, Thomas (2014-10-31). "How Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore sparked his own downfall". BBC News. Retrieved 2014-11-02.
- ↑ Soré 2008, pp. 29–30
- ↑ Wise, Christopher (2001). The Desert Shore: Literatures of the Sahel. 3. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 157–158. ISBN 9780894108679.
- ↑ Soré 2008, p. 16
- 1 2 Soré 2008, pp. 22–23
- ↑ Soré 2008, p. 9
References
- Judge dismisses sole suspect in Zongo's Murder — IFEX
- Amnesty International: "Burkina Faso: Amnesty International Welcomes Progress in the Norbert Zongo Case"
- Le Monde (in French)
- Soré, Ramata (2008). "The Murder of Norbert Zongo: A history of investigative journalism in Burkina Faso" (PDF). Reuters Institute Fellowship Paper, University of Oxford. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
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