SAPOUY — 1998 · Unsolved Case
The Murder of Journalist Norbert Zongo
Norbert Zongo, Burkina Faso's best-known investigative journalist and founder of the newspaper L'Indépendant, was found dead in his 4x4 near Sapouy on 13 December 1998 along with his brother, a colleague and his driver. He had been investigating the 1997 death in custody of David Ouédraogo, driver to the then president's brother, and kept the story alive with weekly articles; threats he received were ignored. The case, which triggered nationwide protests, was closed in 2006 without anyone being tried. The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights later ruled that the state had failed in its duty to investigate. The case was reopened and charges brought in 2015, but a years-long extradition effort came to nothing.
- Date
- 1998
- Place
- Ziro, Burkina Faso, Sapouy, BF
- Category
- Unsolved Case
- Case Status
- Unsolved
- Coordinates
- 11.5500, -1.7700 ↗
Timeline of Events
- December 1997David Ouédraogo died in custody; Zongo began investigating.
- 13 December 1998Zongo and three others were found dead near Sapouy.
- 2006The case was closed without a trial.
- 2015The case was reopened and charges brought.
- 2017An extradition process began in France; it eventually came to nothing.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Norbert Zongo en.wikipedia.org ↗
- BBC — How Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore sparked his own downfall bbc.com ↗
- CPJ — Norbert Zongo cpj.org ↗
- Wikipedia
- BBC
- CPJ
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.