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

According to Korag, investigators had amassed undeniable physical evidence of this illicit racketeering. This included substantial cash sums discovered in the customs agents’ offices and residences, along with witness testimonies and video recordings capturing them in the act.

Despite this compelling evidence, the accused individuals were granted a dismissal of charges, a decision strongly condemned by the junta. The transitional government now alleges that a lawyer and ten senior magistrates from the Ouagadougou Court of Appeal accepted bribes to secure the release of the customs officers and, critically, to disclose the identities of key prosecution witnesses.

Korag vehemently labeled this situation a “judicial masquerade” and a “severe breakdown in the chain of justice and witness protection.” The body considers these grave issues sufficient justification for the arrest of the implicated magistrates last month. The junta has affirmed its commitment to imposing “disciplinary sanctions against unethical members of the judiciary, without ruling out criminal prosecution.”