Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Burkina Faso's military rulers will bring back the death penalty, which was abolished in 2018, the country's Council of Ministers announced Thursday.

The draft penal code, which must be approved by the transitional legislature created by the ruling junta, also penalises "the promotion and practices of homosexuality and related acts", according to the west African country's government.

The new penal code "reinstates the death penalty for a number of offences, including high treason, acts of terrorism, acts of espionage, among others," stated the Burkinabe government's information service.

Burkina Faso last carried out an execution in 1988, according to Amnesty International.

The death penalty was then abolished 30 years later under the civilian government of Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

The unrest-hit Sahel nation has been led by Captain Ibrahim Traore since a 2022 military coup.

Since taking power, Traore has pursued anti-Western policies and distanced the country from former colonial ruler France, while strengthening ties with Russia and Iran.

"The adoption of this draft law is part of the broader reforms in the sector aimed at delivering justice that meets the profound aspirations of the people," said Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala in the government statement.

The west African nation also adopted a law in September targeting "perpetrators of homosexual practices" with sentences of up to five years in prison.

Burkina Faso has been plagued by jihadists who have pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group for more than a decade, with the junta struggling to keep a lid on the burgeoning unrest.

The junta has frequently moved to silence voices who criticise its rule, on its inability to restore order to the country.

Besides Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo reversed a more than two-decade-long moratorium on capital punishment in 2024, while Nigeria has moved to make drug-related crimes punishable by death.

According to Amnesty, 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa handed down death penalties in 2024.

However, Somalia was the only one of those nations to have carried out an execution, for the second year running, the rights watchdog said.

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