The public is unhappy with Compaoré’s replacement by one of his Praetorians and many fear for the fate of their revolution
In the immediate aftermath of the overthrow of President Blaise Compaoré last week, no one knew who was in charge. Gradually, towards the end of the country’s most turbulent week ever, stability coalesced around the unlikely figure of Lieutenant Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida, number two in the presidential guard, the Régiment de la sécurité présidentielle (RSP). Virtually unknown to the public, he sided with the protestors early on and it was he who, on 31 October, declared the constitution suspended. Yet the key civil society activists who claim parentage of this revolution see Zida, 49, as an unwelcome arriviste.
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