Le Balai Citoyen ('The Citizen's Broom' or 'The Civic Broom'),[1] is a political grassroots movement in Burkina Faso, which was part of the opposition against President Blaise Compaoré. It was co-founded by two musicians, reggae artist Sams’K Le Jah and rapper Serge Bambara ('Smockey') in the Summer of 2013.[2][3] They organized several protests in early 2014, for example hosting a joint rally with the newly formed Movement of People for Progress, filling a 35,000-capacity sports stadium to its rafters.[4]
When the October 2014 Burkinabé uprising broke out the group became a prominent part of the protests, its activists gaining note due to their presence on the streets.[5] President Compaoré was forced to resign and flee the country on 31 October, after 27 years of rule. The presidency was subsequently occupied by the military, which named the pro-protest officer Yacouba Isaac Zida as the country's interim leader. Le Balai Citoyen, which launched a symbolic sweeping of Ouagadougou's streets following Compaoré's departure,[6] has been reported to be supportive of Zida's transitional rule.[7] However, its leaders called for protesters to 'remain vigilant and on high alert, to not let anyone steal the victory of the sovereign people'.[3]
The movement is part of the Burkinabé Sankarist political tradition, appealing to the legacy and ideals of Captain Thomas Sankara, a radical left-wing revolutionary who ruled the country from 1983 until his death in 1987, killed during a coup orchestrated by his successor Compaoré. Co-founder Sams’K Le Jah received his political education in the Pioneers of the Revolution, the youth movement of Sankara's 'Democratic and Popular Revolution'.[8]
The movement is named both in reference to "sweeping out" perceived political corruption, and to the regular street-cleaning exercises – initiated by Thomas Sankara – in which citizens would pick up brooms and clean their neighbourhoods, both an act of community development and a metaphor for societal self-sufficiency. Members carry brooms during protests as a symbol of this.[9][8][10]