Mali’s former civilian prime minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga has been charged with embezzlement of public funds and placed in custody following a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday, deepening tensions between the ruling military junta and its critics.
Maiga, who was dismissed in November 2024 after publicly criticising the junta’s prolonged stay in power, is accused of “damage to public property, forgery, and use of false documents,” according to judicial sources.
His lawyer, Cheick Oumar Konare, confirmed the charges but said no trial date has been set. “We believe in justice, we are calm while awaiting the trial,” he told AFP, adding that Maiga would remain in detention.
Eight of Maiga’s former colleagues have also been remanded in custody, although his former chief of staff has been released pending trial. Maiga himself was arrested last week, shortly after the junta launched a wave of arrests to suppress what it claimed was an attempted coup within army ranks.
“Choguel Maiga says he is calm and believes that a politician should expect anything, including prison and death,” Konare said in a statement.
Maiga, appointed prime minister in 2021 after the second of Mali’s back-to-back coups, became a rare civilian face in a government dominated by the military. His removal in 2024 came after he condemned the junta for failing to honour its pledge to return power to civilians by March that year.
Mali, plagued by jihadist insurgencies and separatist unrest, has been under military control since the 2020 coup. Observers say Maiga’s prosecution highlights the junta’s tightening grip on power and shrinking tolerance for dissent.
Written By Rodney Mbua
