Ouagadougou: In a notable development in the ongoing legal proceedings against several public officials, the Court of Appeal of Fada N'Gourma has reduced the prison sentences of Magistrate Alban Balaono« Som© and customs officer Zindi D©sir© Niki¨ma. Originally sentenced to 36 months, including 18 months of mandatory imprisonment by the High Court of Koup©la in February 2026, both individuals will now serve 17 months, with only 2 months of mandatory imprisonment.

According to Burkina Information Agency, the Court of Appeal partially overturned the initial judgment from February 24, 2026, which involved charges of corruption, money laundering, and the illegal disclosure of a protected witness's identity. Alongside the reduction in prison time, the fines for Judge Som© and Officer Niki¨ma were increased from 5 million FCFA to 8,632,798 FCFA and 7,032,798 FCFA, respectively.

The appeal court also revisited the case of Judge Mohamed Traor©, reducing his sentence from 24 months, with 12 months suspended, to a 15-month term, with two months suspended, and a fine of 3,000,000 FCFA. The court upheld other provisions of the original judgment, particularly concerning magistrates Aniatisa Urbain M©da and Antoine Sandaogo Kabor©, and customs officers Wendsongda Jonas Yamo©go and Oumarou Yamo©go, each sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment, including two months mandatory.

On procedural matters, the court dismissed appeals filed by the State Judicial Agency and M©da Aniatisa Urbain regarding interlocutory judgments. However, appeals from other defendants and the public prosecutor were accepted. The court also upheld an objection of nullity due to a violation of Article 6 of Regulation No. 05/CM/UEMOA, leading to the annulment of proceedings against Mr. Samp©br© Arno, while dismissing other challenges regarding nullity, jurisdiction, and statute of limitations.