Acrylic on canvas

(40×48) 2025

In this regal portrait of Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traoré, the modern African military leader sits enthroned—not as a tyrant, but as a guardian of his people and their future. Draped in a tiger-camouflage uniform and framed by the Pan-African star of Burkina Faso, the subject echoes the revolutionary spirit of Thomas Sankara—Burkina Faso’s beloved former president and icon of anti-colonial resistance.

From the cheetah pelt beneath him to the books and weapon at his side, every element in The Return of the Panther is rich with symbolism: discipline, knowledge, and defense. Behind him, the land stretches outward, fertile and free—a vision of self-governance and protection against neo-imperial interference.

The painting speaks directly to today’s socio-political awakening across Africa, where a new generation of leaders and citizens are reclaiming sovereignty, redefining power, and demanding dignity on their own terms. His excellencies gaze is not just defiant—it’s ancestral. He sits not alone, but with the weight of Sankara, Lumumba, Khufu, Khafre, Menkaura, Nzinga , Shaka and all who came before him watching from the shadows.

This is not just portraiture—it is prophecy.