A former banker has been sworn in as Burkina Faso's president in front of thousands of cheering supporters thereby completing a transition from the 2014 overthrow of long time ruler Blaise Campaore.Roch Marc Christian Kabore 58, who won elections last month was an ally of Mr Compaore before the two fell out.About 20 soldiers were detained on Monday for plotting to free the jailed leader of September's short-lived coup, Gen Gilbert Diendere, officials said.Several African heads of state attended Mr Kabore's inauguration in the capital, Ouagadougou.Mr Kabore said he would defend the constitution and "ensure justice for all".
“It’s a triumph of orderly transition, democracy and freedom,” said interim president Michel Kafando. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in October 2014 when Compaore sought to extend his 27-year rule, forcing him to step down. Kabore becomes only the third civilian president of the nine who have ruled since the country’s independence from France in 1960.
Kabore served as minister several times and prime minister in 1994, making him one of the main figures in Compaore’s regime, but he ultimately became one of the leading figures of the opposition that helped oust the longtime leader from power. Kafando, a retired diplomat, led the transitional regime, but before completing a year in the post faced a foiled coup led by Compaore’s ex-chief of staff, General Gilbert Diendere, in September.
New street protests backed by part of the army put Kafando back in the driver’s seat, and he organised the November 30 election won by Kabore. Seen as a consensus figure by some and an opportunist by others, Kabore has pledged to build “a new Burkina Faso” by fighting youth unemployment, improving education and modernising the health system.
