Keypoints:
- Former PM Choguel Kokalla Maïga detained over alleged misuse of public property
- Detention part of wider arrests targeting junta critics
- Several ex-aides also held in corruption probe
FORMER prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga was arrested on Tuesday in a sweeping crackdown by Mali’s ruling junta, according to his lawyer and judicial sources.
Corruption probe triggers arrest
Maïga’s lawyer, Cheick Oumar Konaré, said the former leader is accused of misusing public property, following findings in a report by Mali’s auditor general. The case is being handled by the National Economic and Financial Unit, Mali’s main anti-corruption body. Konaré argued that his client posed no risk of flight or evidence tampering.
Former aides also detained
The investigation has also ensnared several of Maïga’s former aides, including his chief of staff and other senior officials from his time in office, judicial sources told local media.
Part of wider junta crackdown
Maïga’s detention comes just days after the junta arrested dozens of people over an alleged plot within the military to overthrow the government. Another former prime minister, Moussa Mara, was also taken into custody earlier this month after showing support for detained government critics.
The arrests reflect a tightening grip on power by Mali’s military leadership, which has twice postponed its pledge to restore civilian rule. The original transition deadline was March 2024.
Political career and rift with junta
Maïga served as prime minister from June 2021 until his dismissal in November 2024, after publicly condemning the junta’s failure to commit to a clear timetable for a democratic transition. He was replaced by General Abdoulaye Maïga, a close ally of junta leader General Assimi Goïta.
Before his appointment, Choguel Kokalla Maïga was a leading figure in the Movement of June 5/Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5/RFP), which opposed former civilian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta until his ousting in August 2020. In February this year, Maïga declared a ‘complete breakup’ between his movement and the junta, accusing the military of suppressing dissent and engaging in ‘arrests and extrajudicial detentions’ of M5/RFP members.
