Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the strongman of Burkina Faso, was sworn in as president on Wednesday, a little over three weeks after leading a coup to depose elected president Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
Damiba took an oath in front of the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold, and defend the Constitution,” the country’s laws, and a “basic act” of significant decisions made by the junta in a televised event.
Damiba sported a sash in the colors of Burkina Faso’s national flag, as well as a camouflage outfit and a red beret.
The ceremony, held in a small room at the Constitutional Council offices, was attended by journalists but no foreign representatives.
Following public outrage over his conduct of a brutal jihadist insurgency, Damiba, 41, led a group of disgruntled officers to drive Kabore out on January 24.
Damiba was formally declared president, head of state, and supreme commander of the armed forces by the Constitutional Council last week.
The move reaffirmed the junta’s statement on January 31 that Damiba would be appointed to those positions for a transitional period, with two vice presidents assisting him.
Burkina Faso is one of the poorest countries in the world and one of Africa’s most violent.
