Burkina Faso: Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana arrested for attempting to undermine state security.
Barely released, Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana returns to detention. The reason for this is his recidivism in destabilising the institutions of the state. According to a communiqué from the military prosecutor’s office dated 28 December 2022, an investigation was launched following allegations of an attempt to undermine state security that hit the headlines at the beginning of December. The investigations made it possible to name the instigators of this plot.
It emerged that Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana was the mastermind of this Machiavellian enterprise – although he was in detention at the Maison d’Arrêt et de Correction des Armées, having been convicted at the beginning of 2022 for similar offences.
The coup attempt was planned in collusion with civilians and military personnel including Chief Warrant Officer Neboa Charles and Sergeant Traoré Adama, according to the release. The plot was foiled thanks to a whistleblower who was part of the group, certainly aware that President Traoré is the man of the current situation and that he is doing everything possible to bring peace and stability to the country.
It should be noted that the arrest of the lieutenant-colonel was met with resistance from young people claiming to be his supporters. He is currently in custody at the military court at the Paspanga gendarmerie in Ouagadougou after a hearing lasting several hours at the military court.
Lieutenant-Colonel Emmanuel Zoungrana, who was arrested in January 2022 for attempting a coup against the government of Roch Kaboré, was released in February but immediately returned to prison on the same day, 2 February. He is accused of, among other things, conspiracy against state security, money laundering, forgery and use of forgeries and, finally, illicit enrichment.
A charge for which the head of the “Green Mamba” unit spent 11 months in MACA, before benefiting from a provisional release with judicial supervision, granted by the Chamber of Control of the Military Court, on 15 December last.
Some believe that this second plot by the lieutenant-colonel against the institutions of the country is proof that this officer is a power-hungry, and never tires of cooking up plans to access the presidential chair at a time when the country does not need such a situation. Many observers wonder how an individual implicated in several financial crimes intends to govern a country that is struggling to prosper economically? It is urgent that an arrest warrant be issued against the other accomplices of this villainous enterprise who once again want to harm the country.
As for the rumours about the embezzlement of funds from the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland, the military prosecutor’s office reassures us that investigations are underway so that light can be shed on the matter as soon as possible.
Miss OLY
