Mali junta arrests former Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga

Mali’s former Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga was arrested Tuesday, according to his entourage and a judicial source, several months after he was dismissed for criticising the country’s ruling junta.

Plagued by jihadist and separatist violence, Mali has been led by the military since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.

Maiga’s detention comes days after the junta carried out dozens of arrests to quash an alleged plot within the army’s ranks to topple the government in turn.

His sacking in November 2024 appeared at the time to confirm that the army, which went back on a pledge to hand the reins back to civilians by the end of March 2024, had tightened its grip on power.

Maiga was arrested in relation to an investigation into allegations of “misappropriation of public funds” made in a report by Mali’s auditor general, his lawyer Cheick Oumar Konare said in a statement sent to AFP.

“Several of his former allies” were also in custody, Konare added.

Having been named to the post following the second coup in 2021, Maiga was fired after he publicly condemned the lack of clarity over when the military would give up power in the West African country.

He was widely seen as isolated and without room for manoeuvre.

His moves to distance himself from the junta sparked months of speculation that he would be sacked, and he was soon replaced by a namesake officer, General Abdoulaye Maiga.

Before the coup, Maiga was a key figure in the Movement of June 5/Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5/RFP) opposed to former civilian leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was toppled by the army in August 2020.

At the end of February he insisted that the “breakup is complete” between his movement and the junta, led by General Assimi Goita.

Besides his sidelining by the military, Maiga also complained of “arrests and extrajudicial detentions” of members of his M5/RFP.