Allegations of deep-seated corruption are being brought forward by the Korag, an oversight body established last year in Burkina Faso. This institution is tasked with supervising the nation’s strategic vision throughout its transitional period. Through an extensive official statement, the Korag has revisited a four-year-old case involving customs officials accused of extorting money from truck drivers seeking to transport their goods across borders.

According to the newly formed agency, investigators possess irrefutable material evidence of this illicit racketeering. This includes substantial cash amounts discovered within the offices and residences of the implicated individuals, alongside compelling witness testimonies and video footage capturing them in the act.

Despite the overwhelming evidence, the accused individuals were granted a dismissal, a decision strongly condemned by the junta. The transitional government now implicates an attorney and ten senior magistrates from the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal, alleging they accepted bribes to secure the release of the customs officers and disclose the identities of key prosecution witnesses.

The Korag vehemently labels this outcome a “judicial masquerade” and a “severe breakdown in the justice system and witness protection protocols.” These critical failures, the body asserts, provided ample justification for the arrest of the magistrates last month. The junta has pledged to uphold “disciplinary sanctions against corrupt actors within the judiciary, without ruling out further legal prosecutions.”