In Burkina Faso, an appeals court in Ouagadougou upheld, on August 16, investigative Judge Wenceslas Ilboudou’s decision to drop all charges in the case of murdered journalist Norbert Zongo. On 19 July, Judge Ilboudo had dismissed all charges against Marcel Kafando, a member of the Presidential Security Battalion (BSP), after a crucial witness expressed doubts about elements of his previous testimony. The Ouagadougou Court of Appeal has refused to overturn this original decision, thus ignoring an appeal filed against it by members of Zongo’s family. Zongo, who was the editor of the weekly “l’Independent”, was murdered in 1998 while investigating criminal allegations against President Blaise Compaoré’s family. Kafando, who was indicted for the murder in 2001, was the main suspect in the case.
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