These days, if you jump into a Nairobi cab or Uber and the driver begins to complain about how the economy is squeezing him, you can predict what his solution will be.
He will most likely say Kenya needs a leader like Burkina Faso's Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and some will point to Rwanda's President Paul Kagame. For now, however, Traoré has cornered the African hope market.
Traoré, who turns 38 in March, came to power in a military coup on September 30, 2022. In that short period, he has survived between 18 and 30 military coups; reports of which, if they are to be believed, throw the vast army of his supporters on the continent into a frenzy and sharp denunciation of his imperialist enemies, usually France.
The fervour surrounding Traoré is not merely a fluke. He captured the moment. He came to power at a time when Africa had become weary of its long-ruling elderly strongmen like Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, now 83 years old and in power for 46 years — the longest in the world for a non-monarch — or Cameroon's Paul Biya, now 92 and in power for 43 years. It needed fresh blood. Traoré offered that, at 34, he was (and still is) Africa's youngest leader.
It was a continent that felt badly treated by the world and needed an anti-imperialist figure. Traoré delivered there too, offering a fiery pan-Africanist nationalism, expelling French troops in 2023, chasing away some of their diplomats, and throwing his lot in with Russia.
He spoke the language of the charismatic slain Burkinabe leader Thomas Sankara and wore only camouflage fatigues. Then he faced the most desired (and most challenging to fulfil) need of all: economic dignity. Here, he did what his elderly peers have done; he made most of it up. But being young and living in a hyper-digital age, he became the star of one of the most elaborate social media make-believe campaigns Africa has ever seen.
Burkina Faso's military leader Ibrahim Traore arrives at the Kremlin to attend a festive concert, held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in Moscow, Russia, May 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Alexander Kryazhev | Reuters
A most persistent myth on African social media is that Traoré pulled off an economic miracle by wiping out Burkina Faso's national debt. The numbers tell a far less glowing story. External debt remains a heavy burden.
By June 2025, public debt had climbed to 8,311 billion CFA francs, approximately Sh1.87 trillion ($14.3 billion), a 12.8 per cent jump from the previous year. While the government did settle about Sh260 billion ($2 billion) in domestic debt throughout 2025, the "zero debt" claim is an online fiction.
There was a viral story about a massive Sh1.8 trillion ($14 billion) grain deal Burkina Faso had struck with India. It was baseless. Trade between the two is still primarily focused on machinery and pharmaceuticals, valued at about Sh 39 billion ($300 million) a year.
Traoré's popularity is often boosted by claims of "free everything", from university education to maternity care. Viral posts have claimed he abolished fees from nursery to university. Good things to have, but primary education has been fee-free in Burkina Faso since 2007, 15 years before Traoré seized power. While the government has invested considerably in infrastructure, higher education remains a paid service for most Burkinabe.
The "gratuité" policy, which provides free maternal and child healthcare, was launched in 2016—six years before Traoré came to power.
Ibrahim Traore
Photo credit: Reuters
Reports of Traoré building "50,000 free homes" are exaggerated. There is the "Burkina Faso Deenw Ka Soow" programme, which aims to create 50,000 by 2029, but progress has been anaemic. Fact-checkers have pointed out that viral videos of its success show Algerian or Chinese buildings mislabelled as Burkina Faso's. In 2024, the government initiated 1,000 units for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and low-income groups.
Traoré's main reason for his coup was to end the insurgency. However, violence has tripled since 2022, with over two million displaced. The army, together with Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP) militias and Russian help, has made some gains in recapturing territory held by Jihadist rebels. However, the insurgents still hold or are active in 60 per cent of Burkina's territory.
Where Traoré's "revolution" holds weight is in resource nationalism. There are significant and verifiable achievements here. In late 2023, Traoré laid the foundation for the country's first national gold refinery. The government also increased its stakes in foreign-owned mines.
In agriculture, the "Agricultural Offensive" has yielded tangible results. Two major processing plants—SOFATO (tomato processing) and a new flour mill—opened recently to reduce the country's reliance on imports, but they are not enough. The government still requires food aid in conflict-affected zones.
If you want to know how global affairs are playing out in Kenya, you go to an unlikely source—the famous art on matatus and buses. Several of these vehicles on major routes feature large, high-definition portraits of Traoré in full military gear, often accompanied by slogans like "Occupy" or "Sovereignty."
But something was intriguing. In the game-changing Kenyan Gen Z protests of 2024 and 2025 anniversary reprise, Traoré didn't feature, nor was he channelled. Seems not all of Africa's youth have swallowed the snake oil.
-The author is a journalist, writer and curator of the Wall of Great Africans. X@cobbo3
