Gilbert Diendéré

Gilbert Diendéré (; born 1960)

Members of the RSP launched a coup on 16 September 2015 and detained President Michel Kafando and Prime Minister Isaac Zida. On 17 September, Diendéré was appointed as Chairman of the National Council for Democracy, the new military junta.

The government dissolved the RSP on 25 September 2015 and on 26 September froze the assets of Diendéré and others associated with the coup. In November 2021, he appeared in court to testify in which he denied taking part in the arrests in question. Closing arguments were expected to take place the last week of January 2022, but after the coup on 23 January, the trial was suspended and Diendéré was freed from prison by mutineers, with supporters of junta claiming that the prosecution had been politically motivated.

In April 2022, the military tribunal of Ouagadougou again condemned Diendéré to a life sentence because of his role in the 1987 killing of Sankara. In September 2022, Diendéré was also condemned to serve a 20-year prison sentence, now for his complicity in the murder of syndicalist in 1990.

Personal life Diendéré is married to Fatou Diallo Diendéré, a politician who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, assault, battery and harming state security.