Burkina Faso: Ibrahim Traoré bars former PM Apollinaire Kyélem de Tambèla from leaving the country

The former Burkinabè Prime Minister, Apollinaire Kyélem de Tambèla, has been prohibited from leaving Burkina Faso by the authorities led by Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

This restriction represents a further step in the tightening grip of the transitional government over certain political and public figures. Kyélem de Tambèla was appointed Prime Minister by Ibrahim Traoré in October 2022 and led the Burkinabè government until his departure in December 2024.

His travel ban comes at a time when he is no longer a member of the government. The move therefore raises a crucial question: why do the authorities now consider it necessary to restrict his movements?

What the travel ban reveals about public freedoms

Beyond the personal case of the former Prime Minister, this affair directly questions the state of public freedoms in Burkina Faso. A travel ban is a significant measure, and when applied to a figure who has held the highest offices of state, it deserves clear and transparent justification.

The context makes this decision even more sensitive. Since Ibrahim Traoré came to power, the Burkinabè authorities have justified several exceptional measures by citing the fight against terrorism, the defence of sovereignty, and the need to prevent destabilisation attempts. Kyélem himself had publicly mentioned, while he was Prime Minister, the existence of several attempts targeting the transitional government.

Unanswered questions and legal uncertainty

However, the security argument does not address all the questions. Should a restriction of freedom be limited in time? On what legal basis does it rest? Who ordered it? And what are the precise charges or reasons invoked against the former Prime Minister?

Burkinabè legislation governs the conditions for leaving the national territory. The issue is therefore to determine the precise legal framework under which the measure targeting Kyélem de Tambèla was taken.

A broader test for the transitional government

This affair now goes beyond the sole trajectory of the former Prime Minister. It raises a broader question about the nature of the transitional government: how far can it go in the name of national security without further weakening individual freedoms?

For Ibrahim Traoré, this decision is likely to fuel the debate on the shrinking political space in Burkina Faso. Preventing a former government figure from leaving the country is never a politically neutral act.

In Ouagadougou, the Kyélem de Tambèla case could thus become a new indicator of the relationship between security, political control, and public freedoms under the military transition.