Burkina Faso on Monday demanded clarity over the death of a pro-junta influencer held in Ivory Coast on spying charges. The two West African neighbours have endured tense relations since Burkina Faso’s junta leader, Captain Ibrahim Traore, seized power in September 2022.
Ivory Coast detained Alain Christophe Traore, known as Alino Faso, in January, accusing him of colluding with foreign agents against Ivorian military interests. The 44-year-old influencer was found dead in his Abidjan jail cell last Thursday under suspicious circumstances.
Ivorian prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone stated Alino Faso hanged himself using bedsheets after failed attempts to cut his wrists. Authorities have launched an inquiry into the exact circumstances surrounding his death, according to Kone.
Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore summoned Ivory Coast’s embassy charge d’affaires in Ouagadougou to demand full transparency. He emphasised that despite losing Ivorian nationality, Alino Faso remained a Burkinabe citizen whose body should be repatriated.
The minister criticised Ivory Coast for showing “a great deal of contempt” by withholding official notification of the death. Burkina Faso learned of the tragedy only 72 hours later, through a brief public statement, ignoring diplomatic protocols.
“This lack of respect and courtesy deeply hurt the family, who discovered the news via social media,” Traore said. A security source told AFP earlier that Alino Faso was linked to a prominent Burkinabe cyberactivist group, raising suspicion.
He had relocated with his family to Abidjan in 2021, opening a restaurant but frequently visiting Burkina Faso. The death deepens the chill in relations between the neighbouring states already strained by political upheaval and mistrust.
