“In Ukraine it took 4 months for a revolt to gain momentum. In Egypt three weeks. In Burkina Faso just 3 days. #lwili” - Alexander Clarkson

What you need to know about the situation taking place in Burkina Faso.

Name: Revolution 2.0 as a reference to the historically popular movement led by former President Thomas Sankara in 1983. #lwili is the most common social media hashtag being used to keep track of the protests. It takes its name from the traditional Burkinabè Lwili Peendé cloth being worn by many of the protestors. Parties Involved: Burkinabè citizens took to the streets of the country’s capital Ouagadougou to protest the attempt by the incumbent President to amend the constitution to allow him more 3 terms in power. President Blaise Compaore, who has been reigning for 27 years since seizing power in a military coup in 1987, had asked the Parliament to review a draft that would allow him to extend his Presidency. The military declared a state of emergency after a day of violent protests on October 31st. As per presstime, a junior officer, Lt. Col. Isaac Zida has been announced as the military-backed leader of state. The leader of the opposition, Zéphirin Diabré is however also still rallying supporters to oppose the idea of a coup d’etat led by the army, saying that the country should “remain democratic”. Current State of Affairs: The country is currently under military rule and has a new leader of state “whose form and duration will be determined later.” as stated by the army chief Gen. Nabéré Honoré Traoré. The Burkinabè are wary of the military taking control, and sentiment on the streets is that they got rid of Compaore only to have another soldier imposed on them. One Frederic Ouedraogo is quoted saying; “It’s just like replacing Blaise with a little Blaise”. This is in reference to the fact that Zida was a top member of Blaise’s presidential security detail, and has operational control over the army's best trained and equipped unit. The military is currently ignoring a call by the African Union for the military to hand power over to civilian authorities. This article was written by Mercy Angela Nantongo . Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch.