By In a change of leadership, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been inaugurated as Burkina Faso president.
This comes barely three weeks after the 41-year-old led a coup to topple elected head of state, Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
According to AFP, Damiba on Wednesday swore an oath before the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the Constitution”, the nation’s laws and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the junta.
The televised ceremony, which had in attendance no foreign representatives, was held in a small room at the offices of the Constitutional Council.
On January 24, Damiba led disgruntled officers to force out Kabore following public anger over his handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency.
The junta suspended the constitution immediately on taking power, but later reversed this in the face of pressure from neighbours in West Africa demanding a return to civilian rule.
Reacting to the coup, the African Union on January 31 announced the suspension of Burkina Faso “until the effective restoration of constitutional order.”
On February 9, the UN Security Council expressed “serious concern” over the country’s “unconstitutional change of government,” but chose not to describe it as a military coup or even condemn it outright.
Last week, the Constitutional Council formally determined that Damiba was president, head of state and supreme commander of the armed forces.
The move confirmed an earlier announcement by the junta that Damiba would be appointed to those roles for a transitional period, and be assisted by two vice presidents.
