President Captain Ibrahim Traoré Makes Historic Prison Visit, Unveils Human Rights and Justice Reform at Baporo Penitentiary Center in Burkina Faso.

President Captain Ibrahim Traoré has made another historic move, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, he went to Baporo Prison Center to see how they were doing. Captain Ibrahim Traoré, the president of the AES has motivated the prisoners at Baporo Prison Center and each and everyone of us.

“I’m very happy to come and greet you this morning. You are learning new things, that’s how I see it. You are starting a new life, because prison is not the end of the world. But prison must also be humane. We are an upright society. We are not barbarians. We are not violent. We are an African society. In Africa, respect for human beings is first and foremost. And in Africa, respect for humanity is something that is deeply intimate and intrinsically linked to us. So no matter what situation a person find himself (or herself) in, at a minimum he (she) must be given respect. It is in this spirit, that we have introduced community service to the prison system, to allow anyone who is in conflict with the law, to be able to work for the nation, to receive training, to be of service to the nation, and come out learning something.

Because, there are many things that can land a man in prison, and this is part of life. It could very well be poverty that could lead someone to do things that will go against themselves, to go against his own values, that in the normal circumstances he would not do. For example, you can go and borrow money from someone and you might not be able to pay it back. Things might escalate; the person might summon you to court and you might end up in prison. It does not mean you did not want to pay the money back. But you did not have the capacity to do so at that moment.

So with the laws that we have passed, we are currently fighting to have all of our laws translated in our local languages so that you will understand the rule of laws in our homeland. So through ignorance, someone can come into conflict with the law and not know how to take the proper actions, but find themselves in situations like this.

So every situation in your life is a lesson. The life that you lead is a lesson for everyone. No one can claim to experience the life that you have lived or being through.

We do not want our prisons to be like those imperialists over there. We have decided to humanize our prisons. That is why we have decided to work with our prison group here, first. So that you can learn useful skills and be retrain to be useful to society. You will be able to learn how to farm and to cultivate and that will benefit everyone in society. Tomorrow, you will be entrepreneurs yourself.

Secondly, we will put all the necessary conditions in place so that when someone gets out of prison they won’t be in the same situation they were in before. That is why we have decided to build facilities, improve our healthcare system; and everything else we will try to improve it, so that our prison system will be a place of learning and cultivating new skills and trades. We will try to improve so that our prison system is a place of learning. Yes, so that we can correct and improve on ourselves. Yes, correct ourselves, correct our mistakes, when we are in such situations.

And also, we will cut and reduce the number of prisons here in Burkina Faso, and that’s for sure. We are going to reduce them significantly and concentrate them on productive areas such as in community service, in aide, where people will learn a lot of productive skills, and trades, like agriculture, farming. But there are many other skills you will learn, like in mechanics, and many other things.

This is to tell you, ‘not to loose hope and morales here’. You are learning here. So learn and you will leave. And when you leave, this administration ministries will do everything in its power to support you, so that you will be a model citizen of tomorrow. You will be able to give better advice than anyone else, because the life you are living, what you have experience here, you can give better advice to our young people than anyone else on this earth.

So good luck to you. I wish you all the best. I wish of you to take care of your land, of everything surrounding you here. Continue to advice and support each other. And for anyone who will join this community service work, continue to advise them, so that above all, everyone will learn new skills and trades and move forward to be a good model for our society.

Thank you. Good luck. And may God keep you all in very good health. And when we meet again, Inshallah, someone will say, ‘here is someone who passed through Boporo, and here is their business’.

Thank you very much.

Homeland Or Death, We Will Win.

The struggle continues no matter where we are.”

—Captain Ibrahim Traoré, President of Burkina Faso

🗣️ On April 22, 2026, Burkina Faso leader and president, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, made a rare and symbolic move by visiting the Baporo Agricultural Penitentiary Center, signaling a shift towards a more humane and justice reform-focused prison system in Burkina Faso.

•During the visit, President Traoré emphasized dignity and respect in the detention-prison system in Burkina Faso; highlighting plans to transform the prison system into a more productive, trade and skill-building centers, rather than punitive institutions. The facility—an open-air prison where inmates engage in farming and agricultural skills—reflects this vision, with hundreds of hectares under farming, cultivation and strong production targets.

•The Burkina Faso government is also investing in improving infrastructure, including a new 500-hospital bed facility designed to enhance the living conditions of the inmates and support rehabilitation. Authorities say policies like community-service sentencing will allow inmates to gain productive and valuable trades and skills, contribute to society and national development, and reintegrate better into society.

•The Baporo prison center itself carries historical significance, having been established under the leadership of the Late-Great President of Burkina Faso, Nana Thomas Sankara, and now its stands as a key symbol of Burkina Faso’s evolving justice system.

https://www.wavn.org/burkina-fasos-traore-pushes-for-more-humane-productive-prison-system/

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Burkina Faso’s Traoré pushes for more humane, productive prison system - West African Voice Network

President Ibrahim Traoré on Wednesday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to making prisons more humane, during a visit to the Baporo Agricultural Penitentiary […]