There was just one more year to go before change could finally come, through the next presidential election. After 27 years of Blaise Compaore, the people of Burkina Faso were set to wait patiently until November 2015. But Mr Compaore's attempt to force a constitutional change sparked near unanimous outrage, BBC repports

"It's as if he was disconnected from reality or not acknowledging what was going on," Rinaldo Depagne, director of ICG's West Africa programme, said.

"With nearly a million people in the streets [in a country of 17 million], any sensible politician would have withdrawn their proposed bill."

But he didn't.

Country on edge
Frustration and anger had been growing over the past few years in Burkina Faso and there had been multiple warnings that the society was on the edge of a social-political crisis.

Violent protests erupted in 2011 throughout the country.

First out were the students, following the death of one of their number in police custody.

Shopkeepers, traders, magistrates, lawyers, peasants and finally the rank-and-file soldiers followed.

But they didn't form a mass movement and this is what "saved Blaise Compaore", according to Mr Depagne, who lived in Burkina Faso for a number of years.

The opposition parties were not able to build a political platform to offer an alternative based on the people's discontent at high prices, low wages and Mr Compaore's undivided rule.

Yet, these upheavals lasted several months in the first half of 2011.

There hadn't been such major demonstrations since the murder of the investigative journalist Norbert Zongo at the end of 1998.

Mr Zongo was investigating the killing of the driver of Francois Compaore, the then-president's younger brother and special adviser.

He had himself warned his readership that he may end up being killed after he received a series of death threats.
The murder of Norbert Zongo marked a turning point for many Burkinabes
His murder - which the government initially claimed was an accident - sparked unprecedented demonstrations.


To many, the Zongo case was a turning point during Mr Compaore's regime. The opposition was too divided to overthrow the system but "it created confidence among citizens about their own rights," Mr Depagne said.