Former Burkinabe minister murdered at her home in Ouagadougou, prosecutor says

Former Burkinabe minister Yolande Viviane Compaoré has been assassinated at her home in Ouagadougou, the capital’s public prosecutor’s announced on Tuesday.

Officials said that Compaoré’s body was discovered at her home on Saturday and evidence found at the scene suggests that she was assaulted and murdered.

Judicial authorities have opened an investigation and appealed for any witnesses to come forward.

Compaoré was an influential figure during the presidency of Blaise Compaoré. A former governor of the Northern Region and a member of parliament for the former ruling party, the CDP, she held several ministerial posts, including Minister of Transport and Tourism. She also chaired the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee.

The government of Blaise Compaoré was overthrown by a popular uprising in 2014 and the former president fled to Cote d’Ivoire.