THOMAS SANKARA MAUSOLEUM
Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, has inaugurated a mausoleum commemorating pan-Africanist revolutionary and former president of Burkina Faso Thomas Sankara, along with twelve of his aides.
Sankara was president of Burkina Faso from 1983 until his assassination at the age of 37 during a coup on October 15, 1987, when twelve officials were also killed. Under his leadership, Sankara championed women’s rights, launched environmental campaigns, pursued economic independence and left an enduring legacy of national reforms.
The Thomas Sankara Mausoleum is the final resting place of the former president and his twelve closest companions. Inspired by the path of the sun, the thirteen tombs are arranged concentrically from the centre of the building, each underneath a single skylight. At each hour, a new tomb is lit by the sun overhead, moving the visitor across the room and into a new space of remembrance. Thirteen columns create thirteen open spaces that physically represent the absence of those who were killed — a poignant reminder of the gap created in the lives of their families. Outside, a winding and colorful pavilion directs visitors from Boulevard Thomas Sankara to the entrance of the building.
A large 34-metre dome seals the mausoleum and protects the space from intense heat from the sun above. Oriented to capture prevailing east-west winds, two large gates marking the entrance to the mausoleum are louvred open to provide passive ventilation to the structure — retaining coolth through its large thermal mass. The mausoleum is made of laterite and clay bricks that were sourced locally from the region, continuing Sankara’s commitment to using earth construction in Burkina Faso. Local communities were involved in sourcing the clay for the site, initiating a system of building that spread far beyond the immediate area of Ouagadougou and across Burkina Faso at large.
The completion of this mausoleum marks the conclusion of the first stage of a larger memorial project: the Thomas Sankara Memorial Park, initiated by the Comité International pour le Mémorial Thomas Sankara, financed by the government of Burkina Faso and designed by Kéré Architecture. The Thomas Sankara Memorial Park will span 14 hectares and feature an amphitheater, restaurants, shops, offices, educational and conference facilities. In addition to the mausoleum, which serves as its ceremonial center, a tower will rise above the site where Sankara and his comrades were killed. The tower will be 100 meters in height, with an accessible terrace at 87 meters — a symbolic reference to the year of the assassination. The platform invites generations to come to dream the dream of Thomas Sankara.
Francis Kéré remarked: “This is the first time I have been asked to take on the responsibility of constructing a building in memory of a great figure. Given that Sankara was killed there, the site remained a place of fear for a long time. It has now been transformed into a space of encounter and recreation, that fosters remembrance, respect, and hope. Thomas Sankara played a crucial role in shaping Burkina Faso—even giving our country its name—and his pan-Africanist ideas resonate more deeply today than ever before. Meeting him was a pivotal moment in my early life, and I think many people in Burkina Faso feel a strong connection to Thomas Sankara and his work. The mausoleum will be a space that belongs to the people, presenting an important historic site as a symbol of progress, change, and hope for all.”
The Thomas Sankara Memorial Park is integrated into the Ouagadougou Green Belt development plan, which will establish new buildings within a park, creating valuable green space for the arid capital city and honoring Sankara's environmental legacy.
