Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré has announced that he will ask his Burundian counterpart, Evariste Ndayishimiye, why his country was suspended from the African Union (AU).
On January 31, 2022, the AU suspended Burkina Faso from all its activities a week after Capt. Traoré ousted Roch Marc Christian Kaboré from power.
The organization explained that Burkina Faso would resume its activities once it had restored democratic rule.
On July 17, 2025, the AU appointed Ndayishimiye as its Special Envoy for the Sahel region to help countries in the region resolve security and political issues through diplomatic channels.
Ndayishimiye was asked to engage with leaders in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, regional organizations, civil society and other stakeholders, with a view to achieving lasting peace and security.
In a press conference, Capt Traoré said that he still does not understand why the AU suspended Burkina Faso and that he does not know if his country is still part of the organization because its leaders have not told him anything.
Capt Traoré explained that last week, Ndayishimiye was supposed to go to Burkina Faso to discuss the issue between the two sides, but that it did not happen because of too many schedules.
He said, “Then a mediator was appointed, the President of Burundi, who was supposed to come last week, but I think we had a problem with too many schedules. We are waiting for him. We want to understand why this is happening.”
Asked if Burkina Faso plans to decide to leave the AU like it did with the West African Regional Organization (ECOWAS), while Niger and Mali created the AES, he replied that it will depend on the response Ndayishimiye gives him.
He said, “Because we cannot make a decision without first knowing their reasons. Why did they leave us? Why do they care about us? If we know their reasons, and if we leave, we can explain to our people, ‘This is what they said, I know the reasons, we have decided to leave’. That is what happened with ECOWAS.”
In July 2024, the transitional government of Burkina Faso allowed Capt. Traoré to continue leading the country until 2029. This decision, which did not please the AU, signaled that elections would be held after that year.
