Burkina Faso strongman Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba has been inaugurated as president, just over three weeks after he led a coup to topple elected head of state Roch Marc Christian Kabore.
In a televised ceremony, Damiba on Wednesday swore an oath before the country’s top constitutional body to “preserve, respect, uphold and defend the Constitution”, the nation’s laws and a “fundamental act” of key decisions approved by the junta.
Damiba was dressed in camouflage uniform and a red beret, and wore a sash in the colours of Burkina’s national flag.
The press, but no foreign representatives, attended the ceremony in a small room at the offices of the Constitutional Council.
On January 24, Damiba, 41, led disgruntled officers to force out Kabore following public anger over his handling of a bloody jihadist insurgency.
