Allegations of deep-seated corruption are being highlighted by the Korag, an influential body established last year in Burkina Faso. The Korag’s mandate is to “oversee the implementation of the country’s strategic vision” during the current transitional period. Through an extensive statement, the Korag has revisited a four-year-old case involving customs officials accused of extorting money from road transporters seeking to move their trucks across borders.

According to this newly formed oversight institution, investigators possess undeniable physical evidence of these illicit activities. This includes substantial cash sums discovered in the officials’ offices and residences, corroborating witness testimonies, and video footage explicitly showing them engaged in these corrupt acts.

Despite the compelling nature of this evidence, the accused individuals were granted a dismissal of charges, a decision strongly condemned by the transitional military government. The government now accuses a lawyer and ten high-ranking magistrates from the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal of accepting bribes to secure the release of the customs officials and, furthermore, of disclosing the identities of key prosecution witnesses.

The Korag vehemently labeled this outcome a “judicial farce” and a “severe breakdown in the justice system and witness protection protocols.” These critical findings, it asserts, fully warranted the arrest of the implicated magistrates last month. The transitional government has pledged to enforce “disciplinary measures against any unscrupulous actors within the judiciary, without ruling out formal legal proceedings.”

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