Like Buhari, Burkina Faso president takes key ministerial post

A president is clothed with authority to appoint ministers because he cannot serve alone, but there are times presidents have opted to appoint themselves - literally - as ministers.

In Africa, the case of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is poignant after he took charge of the country's petroleum ministry when he announced his first cabinet in 2015 and later in

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The intent as explained at the time was to keep a close eye on the petroleum sector which had been bedevilled by mismanagement and massive corruption.

The latest president to take a ministerial portfolio is Burkina Faso's Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who on Wednesday, June 30 took over as Defence Minister after a cabinet reshuffle.

He replaces Defense Minister Chériff Sy and will be assisted in the role by Col Maj Barthélémy Simporé, according to a presidential decree.

The announcement is believed to be allied with rising insecurity in the West African country where terrorist violence has been spreading in the last few years.

Kaboré recently asked the opposition to postpone protests scheduled for July 3 and 4 in condemnation of government's handling of insecurity and also a means to mourn the deceased.

The most recent attack to hit the country took place in early June when terrorists staged an attack in Solhan in the north-eastern region killing over 130 people in what has been labeled the deadliest attack in Burkina Faso since April 2015.