Editing Norbert Zongo (section)

== Career ==
In 1971, Norbert Zongo began his career as a teacher in Ouagadougou, [[Kadiogo Province]].{{sfn|Soré|2008|p=30}}

Zongo was also a writer. His first novel ''Le Parachutage'' was a thinly disguised political critique of [[Togo]]'s President [[Gnassingbé Eyadema]] set in the post-colonial era. In the preface of the novel in 1988, Zongo mentions being arrested and beaten for writing it. He followed this novel with the colonial setting for ''Rougbêinga'' two years later, which was also political [[satire]] of leadership.{{sfn|Wise|2001|pp=157–158}}

In 1991, Zongo, after working for the national daily paper ''Sidwaya'', founded ''La Clef'' with Saturnin Ki. It was the first newspaper in Burkina Faso to openly criticism the government, with Zongo contributing under the pseudonym Henri Sebgo{{sfn|Soré|2008|p=16}} (or H.S.{{sfn|Wise|2001|pp=157–158}}). The paper folded in 1993. That June, Zongo founded the weekly ''L'Indépendant'', which primarily covered government corruption.{{sfn|Soré|2008|p=16}} In 1996, he began investigating a series of fraud and [[Graft (politics)|graft]] cases involving several mining and manufacturing companies with ties to top political officials and President [[Blaise Compaoré]]'s family. His resulting work severely embarrassed the government. The following year, Zongo directly criticized the Parliament's decision to amend the [[Constitution of Burkina Faso|Constitution]] to allow Compaoré to seek a third term.{{sfn|Soré|2008|pp=22–23}}