By John Ikani
Burkina Faso’s former President, Roch Kabore, who had been under house arrest since he was toppled in a military coup in January, has been allowed to return to his family home, the country’s interim government said in a statement on Wednesday.
Mr Kaboré was under house arrest in a ministerial villa in the capital since January when he was ousted in a coup led by Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba, who is now the head of state.
The announcement of his release comes after weeks of consultations.
It also follows calls by the international community for his freedom.
West African leaders last month asked the junta to free the ex-president and lay out a “more acceptable” timeline for a return to democracy than its current 36-month transition period, which was agreed internally after the coup.
Kabore will return to his residence in the capital Ougadougou on Wednesday, the interim government said, adding that security measures would be installed to “guarantee his safety”.
Meanwhile, the junta is still resisting pressure from the West African bloc ECOWAS to relinquish power in less than three years, saying its priority is to restore security in the insurgent-hit country.
