Former Burkinabe minister Yolande Viviane Compaoré has been assassinated at her residence in Ouagadougou, in a killing that has shocked Burkina Faso’s political establishment and triggered a nationwide criminal investigation.
The public prosecutor’s office in the capital confirmed on Tuesday that Compaoré’s body was discovered at her home on Saturday. Preliminary findings indicate she was assaulted before being killed, pointing to a targeted and violent attack.
Judicial authorities say an investigation has been opened, and have called on members of the public to provide any information that could help identify those responsible.
Compaoré was a prominent political figure during the era of former president Blaise Compaoré, whose government was toppled by a popular uprising in 2014. She previously served as governor of Burkina Faso’s Northern Region and later became a member of parliament for the former ruling Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP).
During her political career, she held several senior cabinet roles, including Minister of Transport and Tourism, and later chaired the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the National Assembly, making her one of the most influential women in Burkinabe politics at the time.
Blaise Compaoré, who ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years, fled to Côte d’Ivoire following the 2014 uprising. His long tenure remains one of the most controversial periods in the country’s modern history.
Authorities have not yet disclosed any suspects or possible motives behind the killing. Security has reportedly been tightened around sensitive political sites as investigators work to determine whether the assassination was politically motivated or linked to other factors.
