In Burkina Faso, the Korag, a transitional body established last year to control the implementation of the country’s strategic vision, has brought forth serious accusations of corruption. A detailed statement from Korag revisits a four-year-old case concerning customs officials accused of extorting payments from truck drivers seeking passage for their vehicles.

This newly established body asserts that investigators gathered undeniable material evidence of the racketeering, including substantial cash discovered in the officers’ workplaces and residences, along with eyewitness testimonies and incriminating video footage.

Despite such compelling evidence, the accused individuals were granted an acquittal, a decision strongly condemned by the junta. The military government now implicates one lawyer and ten high-ranking magistrates from the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal, alleging they received bribes to secure the customs officers’ release and betray the identities of crucial prosecution witnesses.

Korag vehemently denounced this outcome as a “judicial charade” and a “severe systemic failure in the administration of justice and witness protection.” These findings, considered sufficient by the body, served as the basis for the magistrates’ arrests last month. The junta has committed to upholding “stringent disciplinary measures against unscrupulous members of the judiciary, with legal prosecution remaining a distinct possibility.”