Léraba/Obituary: The funeral of His Majesty the Canton Chief of Sindou, Kalifou Traoré, who died at the age of 91 on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, took place on Friday, November 1, 2024, in the presence of administrative, military, customary, and religious authorities. One of the authorities came to accompany His Majesty Kalifou Traoré to his final resting place.
According to Burkina Information Agency, Kalifou Traoré was the vice president of the provincial council of traditional chiefs of Léraba, canton chief of Sindou, serving as interim from 2005 to 2021, and officially inducted on April 1, 2021. He was recognized with honors including Officer of the Order of the Stallion, Knight of the Order of the Stallion, and Knight of the Order of Academic Palms.
Kalifou Traoré’s education journey began at the public primary school of Sindou (1942-1947), followed by the Cours Normal of Koudougou for his BEPC (1947-1951), and the Ecole Normale des Garçons of Tournon in Ardèche, France, where he completed his BAC (1952-
1955). He pursued Literature Studies, obtaining the DEUG twice at the University of Aix en Provence (1955-1956) and the Ecole des Hautes Études of Abidjan (1959-1960). He furthered his education at the Ecole des Hautes Études of Dakar, earning a Bachelor’s degree in history and literature (1959-1961), and later a Bachelor’s degree specializing in history (1962-1963). At the University of Ouagadougou, he achieved a Master’s degree in history-geography in 1978.
Professionally, Traoré started as an administrator at the Ouagadougou technical college in 1956, then became director of the Sabou primary school (1957-1959). He was among the first teachers at the Prytanée militaire du Kadiogo, served as chief of staff for the minister in charge of public health in Sangoulé Lamizana’s government (1966-1968), and taught history and geography at Yadéga high school in Ouahigouya (1972-1978). He founded the Balla high school, now the mixed high school of Accart-ville in Bobo Dioulasso, and served as its director (1976-1978
). Traoré was an opposition member of parliament in the National Assembly (1978-1980), later teaching at the Ouezzin Coulibaly high school (1980-1986), and upon retirement in 1986, established the Lycée Moderne Mixe les Pics de Sindou in 2010.
In politics, Traoré was a member of the National Assembly (1978-1980), represented in the 2nd chamber of the National Assembly in 2002, and served as 1st deputy mayor of Sindou from 2007 to 2012. The High Commissioner of Léraba, Mahamadi Congo, extended heartfelt condolences to his family on behalf of the country’s first authorities. A posthumous decoration and the dua on the 7th day after his passing took place on Sunday, November 3, 2024, at his home.