Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) – Burkina Faso national television director Ouezzin Louis Oulon was on Friday sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined 150,000 CFA francs in a fraud case related to contest for civil service recruitment, sources said.
The journalist and 15 other defendants pleaded “guilty” to the charge of fraud. Seven of them, including the chief of staff for the exams office, Issouf Tou, were sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and fined each 500,000 CFA francs.
Since 8 September 2015 hundreds of candidates for civil service employment — in departments of health, ENAREF (finances), customs and advisers for economic affairs — have been demonstrating to press their demand for resitting their exams due to fraud.
The interim government had reassured the national and international opinion that justice was taking its course and those responsible would be identified. However, it rejected repetition of the exams, citing the lack of funds and time for redoing the exercise.
More than 1,000 civil servants on permanent terms or other situation were listed in Burkina Faso in July after an extensive verification was carried out on the basis of their salary payment in cash.
