Ouagadougou — Burkina Faso’s military authorities have required dozens of journalists from public and private media outlets to undergo a multi-day military-style “patriotic immersion” training course, a new annual obligation introduced by the ruling junta.
More than 40 journalists — a total of 44 men and women drawn from various media houses across the country — completed the programme at the Police Academy in Pabré, about 20 kilometres from the capital Ouagadougou.
The course, organised by the Ministry of Security, lasted five to six days and ended on or around August 13–14, 2026.
Participants were issued military fatigues and carried rifles during parts of the training. Activities included basic soldier drills, weapons handling, physical exercises, tactical first aid, stress management, and sessions on ethics, professional conduct, and reporting in wartime or crisis situations.
In a video released by the state broadcaster RTB, Communication Minister Pingdwende Gilbert Ouédraogo, who also serves as government spokesman, addressed the journalists as they stood at attention in uniform. “Are you going to be patriotic and professional journalists?” he asked. They replied in unison: “Affirmative.”
“A professional journalist who is not a patriot is a threat to their country,” Ouédraogo added. He stressed that in a Burkina Faso confronting terrorism and seeking to reclaim its sovereignty, journalists must be engaged, professional and patriotic, arguing that the three qualities go hand in hand.
Security Minister Mahamadou Sana also visited the participants and indicated that the initiative would become an annual tradition to better prepare media professionals for what he described as an increasingly difficult and complex security environment.
The measure comes under the military-led government of Captain Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a 2022 coup. Burkina Faso has faced more than a decade of deadly attacks by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. Similar patriotic or military-style training has already been required for high-school students sitting their final exams since the previous year.
Press freedom groups have criticised the requirement. Sadibou Marong, sub-Saharan Africa director at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), described the initiative as “a new, very worrying signal for press freedom.” He said: “Journalists are not soldiers and must not be turned into mouthpieces for the war effort, dressed in military uniforms and with weapons in their hands.”
The training forms part of broader efforts by the junta to emphasise national unity and patriotism amid ongoing insecurity, though independent media organisations continue to raise concerns about its implications for journalistic independence.
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