Press freedom organisations are outraged by the decision of a judge in Burkina Faso to drop charges against the only suspect in the 1998 murder of a journalist probing criminal allegations against the president's family.
Prosecutors said an examining magistrate had granted their request to drop the case against a member of the presidential guard indicted in the killing of Norbert Zongo, editor of the weekly L'Indépendant in capital Ouagadougou. They said magistrate Wenceslas Ilboudo dismissed charges against Warrant Officer Marcel Kafando, a member of the Presidential Guard Regiment, for lack of evidence. An independent commission of inquiry concluded in May 1999 that Kafando was one of six "serious suspects" in the murder.
"It is alarming that despite an independent commission and eight years of investigation, the authorities have dropped the indictment," said Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) Executive Director Joel Simon. "If the Zongo case is shelved, it will send a terrible signal of impunity to the killers of journalists, and Zongo's murder will continue to cast a shadow over the country's independent press."
The bullet-ridden bodies of Zongo and three other men were found in Zongo's burned-out vehicle on December 13, 1998, some 80 km outside Ouagadougou. Before his death, Zongo was investigating allegations that François Compaoré, brother and special advisor to President Blaise Compaoré, took part in the January 1998 torture and killing of his driver, David Ouedraogo. The chauffeur was suspected of stealing 20 million CFA francs (then US$27,000) from Compaoré.
Kafando was one of three Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) members who were convicted in August 2000 of kidnapping Ouédraogo and torturing him to death. The public prosecutor charged him in February 2001 with murder and arson in connection Zongo's death. But despite the gravity of the charges, Kafando was allowed to continue living at his home. However, prosecutors asked for the charge to be dropped after their main witness expressed doubts in May 2006 about his previous testimony.
The lawyer for Zongo's family, Benewendé Sankara, said he would appeal. Sankara told CPJ he thought the decision meant that "the judicial system is not independent in this country." "We are in shock, everyone is astonished and angry," Liermé Somé, editor of L'Indépendant told CPJ. "For the last eight years, not a week has gone by without us writing about this case. It is absolutely vital that light be shed on it."
The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) and the World Editors Forum (WEF) have called on the government of Burkina Faso to reopen the investigation into the slaying of Zongo and prosecute his murderer and those who have protected the killer. In a letter to Justice Minister Boureima Badini, WAN and WEF said, "The failure to bring Zongo's murderer to justice only increases the appearance of political influence in the judicial process and adds to suspicions that the killer has, in effect, been granted impunity from prosecution.
Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) pledged to continue campaigning for justice. "This is an outright scandal, a disgrace," a RSF statement said. "After eight years of campaigning, this decision makes the reign of impunity in Burkina Faso official. It is a terrible blow for all those citizens who have ceaselessly demanded to know the truth about this murder."
RSF continued: "This has always been a highly political case. Zongo was killed by members of the presidential guard. François Compaoré, the brother of President Blaise Compaoré, is implicated. The authorities never stopped protecting the killers. The president has got what he always wanted – injustice." It said, "Despite this decision , we will continue to campaign for justice in this case. We will never forget Norbert Zongo and we will press on tirelessly with our campaign alongside his family and friends."
