Le Balai Citoyen

The Le Balai Citoyen (English: The Citizen's Broom or the Civic Broom, also called simply Balai Citoyen) 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. 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.

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. 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, has been reported to be supportive of Zida's transitional rule. However, its leaders called for protesters to "remain vigilant and on high alert, to not let anyone steal the victory of the sovereign people."

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".

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.

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