Sissili: The Prosecutor of Faso at the High Court (TGI) of L©o, Ahmed Ouattara, surrounded by actors in the criminal justice system, presented on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at the L©o courthouse, the results of the criminal sessions held between February and July 2026. This press conference, which brought together judicial police officers and the media, highlighted the major advances related to judicial reforms, while also outlining the daily logistical constraints faced by judicial police officers in the field.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the High Court of L©o, whose jurisdiction covers the provinces of Sissili and Ziro, has undergone a major transformation with the advent of legislative reforms, particularly concerning the handling of criminal cases. During his address, the Prosecutor of Burkina Faso, Ahmed Ouattara, discussed the implementation of the legislative reform, which now allows crimes to be tried directly at the High Court level, bypassing the mandatory and time-consuming step of an investigating judge. "As soon as a crime is committed and the judicial police have completed their investigation, the Prosecutor of Burkina Faso now has the power to directly prosecute the accused before the criminal chamber of the High Court. Criminal procedures are therefore now much faster," explained the Prosecutor, reiterating his commitment to transparency and public information made upon taking office in October 2023.
Clearing the backlog of cases transferred by the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal required continuous sessions from February to July 2026. The figures presented by the public prosecutor's office show an overall efficiency rate of 89.58%, with 48 cases scheduled, 43 of which were tried and 5 adjourned, and 70 defendants appearing in court. In terms of verdicts, 46 convictions were handed down against 11 acquittals, with a total of 23,500,000 FCFA in fines collected for the benefit of the State.
The offenses prosecuted cover a wide spectrum of crime, ranging from violent crimes to economic offenses. These include 10 murder cases and 5 assassination cases, 7 aggravated rapes, 5 drug importation cases, 5 life sentences, and 11 sentences ranging from 11 to 30 years' imprisonment.
Among the high-profile cases that have captured local public attention, the Prosecutor of Burkina Faso cited several sensitive cases, including the Silly shepherds' case, where a Volunteer for the Defense of the Homeland (VDP), prosecuted for the murder of two shepherds searching for their animals, was sentenced to 11 years in prison; the homicide in Cassou, in which another VDP involved received a 5-year prison sentence, with 12 months to be served; the rape and murder of a woman in her fifties in the commune of Bougnounou, for which the perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment; and the case of the traditional healer from Dalo, prosecuted for the aggravated rape of a patient, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with 6 years to be served, and fined one million CFA francs.
While the collaboration between the prosecutor's office and the investigative units (Gendarmerie, National Police, Water and Forestry, Customs) is described as "excellent" and "permanent 24/7", the representatives of the Judicial Police interviewed took this opportunity to expose their harsh operational realities.
Police Lieutenant Souleymane Traor©, stationed at the central police station in L©o, emphasized the vastness of the area covered, which sometimes slows down the response time of officers during nighttime operations in rural areas. He also raised a major concern regarding the care of detainees. "The lack of financial resources is particularly glaring during custody procedures. For example, when an arrested person falls ill and has no relatives nearby to assist them, it is often the investigating officers who have to contribute from their own funds to pay for the initial medical prescriptions. We urge the authorities to provide us with adequate funds and equipment," he pleaded.
Echoing this sentiment, Adjutant Amadou Ouattara, serving with the L©o gendarmerie company, pointed out that insufficient funding for support sometimes forces investigators to feed those arrested at their own expense. To prevent these costs from becoming a prolonged burden on their units, the gendarmerie prioritizes speed. "We have no interest in seeing procedures drag on at our level. Thanks to this excellent working relationship with the prosecutor's office, cases move very quickly: we finalize the official reports rapidly and immediately bring the individuals involved before the court," he explained.
In conclusion, Prosecutor Ahmed Ouattara welcomed the significant decrease in the prison population at the L©o Detention and Correctional Center (MACL). This reduction in overcrowding is the result of the implementation of alternative measures to prosecution, such as criminal mediation, plea bargaining, and community service.
These tools allow for the defusing of minor conflicts directly from the prosecutor's office through consensual reparations or community service, thus avoiding systematic incarceration while preserving social peace. He also welcomed the enactment of the new "Faso Bukaor©" law, which will be a major contributor to the provision of justice and the reduction of the prison population.