Burkina Faso’s Council of Ministers has approved legislation to reinstate the death penalty, targeting offences including treason, terrorism, and espionage, authorities have confirmed.
Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala announced on Facebook that the move is “part of reforms … to have a justice that responds to the deep aspirations of our people”.
The West African nation had abolished capital punishment in 2018.
The proposed bill must still be adopted by parliament and undergo court review before it can become law.
This development follows a series of sweeping reforms by the country’s military leaders since they seized power in a 2022 coup, which have included postponing elections intended to restore civilian rule and dissolving the independent electoral commission.
Burkina Faso has increasingly silenced critical media outlets in recent years.
It suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces as well as arresting three prominent journalists earlier this year.
The country is one of several West African nations where the military has taken over in recent years, capitalising on widespread discontent with previous democratically elected governments over security issues.
The military government has been accused of human rights abuses and the detention of journalists critical of the government.
In 2024, Burkina Faso’s parliament passed a law banning homosexuality, with people facing two to five years in prison.
The code was approved by the parliament in a unanimous vote, putting the legislation into effect more than a year after its initial approval by Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s military government.
More than half of Africa’s 54 countries that have laws banning homosexuality, with penalties ranging from several years in prison to the death penalty.
The landlocked nation of 23 million people is among countries struggling with a security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years.
It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group.
