Captain Ibrahim Traoré likes to discuss local spirituality, Chinese military equipment procurement, gold exports and Dubai investments with a special friend. After dark, the Burkinabè junta leader sometimes slips out of the presidential palace unescorted, driving a grey Hyundai crossover. "IB" crosses the city centre and heads down Boulevard Mouammar-Kadhafi to join his friend for tea at a villa in the upmarket Ouaga 2000 district.
This confidant serves as both mystical and business adviser - a master
