De him we learn in the course of his talkative declarations that he is the adjutant major retired, that he “wanted to give (his) life for the revolution”, even if it means taking the maquis, and that he was chief of military detachment during the putsch which allowed Thomas Sankara to lead the country in 1983. Abderrahmane Zetiyenga is the 36e witness (out of more than 110) called for the trial of the assassination of Thomas Sankara and his twelve companions, which took place on October 15, 1987. And he was the first to jostle the “General” in this way. This Thursday, December 9, he was confronted with the most famous of the 12 defendants present, Gilbert Diendéré. Usually, the confrontations between the witnesses and this figure both feared and respected of the former regime of Blaise Compaoré are civilized, smooth. Rarely fertile. Each one unfolds, side by side, at the bar, his version of the facts. It is therefore “word against word”, and for the court to assess – the evidence is thin 34 years after the fact. Except that Zetiyenga does not let it be fooled. He insists, turns to the slender Diendéré, who is a head taller than him, questions, points to an inconsistency. And persists, in the face of this yet picky opponent: “Me, I am formal. “
Gilbert Diendéré is accused of endangering state security, complicity in murder, concealment of corpses and bribery of witnesses. Lieutenant at the time of the acts, he ensured the security of the Council of the Entente, seat of the revolutionary power between 1983 and 1987 and place of the crime. He then controls a hundred men. He is also deputy corps chief of the CNEC (National Commando Training Center), from which most of the elements of the Council of the Entente and the close guards of Sankara and Compaoré come. While the execution of the assassination of Thomas Sankara by members of Blaise Compaoré’s security is no longer in doubt at this stage of the trial, Diendéré recalls that, on Thursday, October 15, 1987, he organized in the morning a meeting between the close guards of the two men. It was, according to him, to clear the latent tensions between the two camps, against a backdrop of rumors and “filthy leaflets”.
Letter from Sankara
These tensions also worry Abderrahmane Zetiyenga. A few days earlier, he received a letter from Thomas Sankara. “My dear Zetiyenga, Sonda sent me your message about a possible quarrel between comrade Blaise Compaoré and me. (…) I would like to reassure you by repeating what I already said to Der. I trust Blaise because, to me, he’s a brother, a friend and a comrade. Zetiyenga, despite this, is hardly reassured. “I was in turmoil because we suffered for this revolution to happen,” he said. On October 10, he left the CNEC, based in Po, in the south of the country, to go to Ouagadougou. He says he wants to “understand both parties”. He met Thomas Sankara, then, on October 11, opened up to Gilbert Diendéré. The two men know each other well. Zetiyenga was his deputy at the CNEC. “We never hid anything, but there, I did not feel it,” he said.
According to his story, he handed him the letter from the President of Faso and offered to organize a meeting between the close and remote guards of Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré. At the meeting on October 15, ideas were outlined to prevent the situation from flaring up. Then, says Zetiyenga, another, more informal meeting is held with non-commissioned officers, at the end of which Diendéré speaks to him about “category A information”: Sankara is preparing a coup against Compaoré. The head of security of the CNEC then adds that it is necessary “to proceed with his arrest to avoid a bloodbath”. At around 2 p.m., Zetiyenga took up a position at one of the entrances to the camp with instructions not to let anyone in except the procession of the President of Faso. Which arrives around 3:30 pm. In the hour which follows, shots ring out.
Sankara’s true-false plot against Compaoré
Called to react to the bar, General Diendéré, in leopard fatigues and red beret, sweeps away the holding of a 2e meeting. Capital information for the prosecution. The thesis of the plot hatched by the Sankara camp would have, according to her, been a pretext to convince the elements of the security of Compaoré to take action. “This is totally wrong. After the meeting, everyone left, explains the accused, in his calm and gentle voice. There was only one meeting, on October 15th. And I did not receive any category A information. Moreover, we say source A, and it is usually followed by a number. He also denies having read Thomas Sankara’s letter.
“Wasn’t he the one who sent me to the post with instructions not to let anyone in?” Zetiyenga engages. “I never sent Zetiyenga to any post, he no longer had any function on the Council of the Entente,” explains Diendéré, arguing that he was on an internship at Po. “Gilbert Diendéré is someone for whom everyone has consideration, but there, it surprises me”, tries his former right-hand man. Then, turning to him: “Did I get up on my own to go to this post?” You did say that, if you sent me to the post, it was because vigilance had to be reinforced, because you had information on a movement of the Etir (transport and rapid intervention squadron, loyal to Thomas Sankara), did you say it, yes or no? ” ” Not exactly. I said “if I sent it there”, I’m not sure, but I don’t think I sent it … “” Yes? the president interjects. Explain to us. “If it turns out I sent it there.” The military prosecutor returns to this sudden use of the conditional: “General Diendéré, we cannot say” maybe “or” if I sent him there “. “I did not send him to this post”, assures the accused.
“Gilbert Diendéré betrayed”
And to continue: “In any case, I cannot make the decision to stop Thomas Sankara. It is not possible. And, assuming that I was going to do it, it was not to Zetiyenga, knowing his link with Thomas Sankara, that I was going to give information, ”he continues. The person concerned did not surrender his arms and questioned him on the instructions given that day. Diendéré sends him back to his contradictions and his vacillating memory. “It’s weird that he can’t name the members present at the meeting (on October 15),” he laughs. Zetiyenga stressed that he only remembered the speakers, not the participants. But he did not forget the content, nor the “mistrust” that he said then felt on the part of his former comrade: “During this meeting, we made proposals for ending the crisis (such as that of isolating Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré outside Ouagadougou, editor’s note). Him, what did he propose? “” I felt that it was not for us to solve this political problem and that the other two captains (Henri Zongo and Jean-Baptiste Lingani, Editor’s note) were more senior and more informed than me “, replies Diendéré.
“For me, Gilbert Diendéré betrayed, Zetiyenga persists. If he had to proceed with the arrest of Sankara as he told us, he would have planned, it is a military leader who made the school of war. It would have happened otherwise. So, for me, he leaned more for an assassination. “But didn’t you, too, betray Thomas Sankara by letting him pass and enter the Council of the Entente? You haven’t blocked his vehicle? »Asks the lawyer of the civil parties, Prosper Farama. “I am partly responsible for not having been able to inform Thomas Sankara that Gilbert Diendéré said he was going to arrest him. “You were at your post between 2 pm and 3:30 pm You couldn’t have warned Thomas Sankara’s security or told him not to come? »Insists one of Diendéré’s lawyers, Olivier Yelkouny. “How was I going to dissuade him?” »Asks the witness.
