Mali: Former civilian prime minister of the junta, Choguel Kokalla Maïga, in custody

Mali's former civilian prime minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga , who was dismissed in November 2024 by the military, which has been in power since 2020 after criticizing it, was taken into custody on Tuesday, August 12, along with former collaborators. This comes in the wake of recent arrests of members of the army accused of conspiring against the junta.

Among those in custody are his former chief of staff, Issiaka Ahmadou Singaré, and three former administrative and financial directors of the Prime Minister's office. The custody, "notified" to Choguel Kokalla Maïga on Tuesday, "comes as part of an investigation into allegations of damage to public property issued by a report from the State Auditor General," Choguel Kokalla Maïga's lawyer said, without providing further details.

According to a source at the Economic and Financial Division – the court responsible for prosecuting economic crimes – "Maïga and several of his former colleagues are in custody as part of investigations into their management at the Prime Minister's office. In principle [Wednesday] or [Thursday], they will be brought before the prosecutor at the Supreme Court."

Choguel Kokalla Maïga is one of the leading figures of the June 5 Movement/Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP), which took part in the 2020 popular protest against civilian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who was ultimately overthrown by the military in August 2020.

In February, the former civilian prime minister stated that the "break is complete" between his political coalition and the junta, citing in particular "arrests" and "extrajudicial detentions" against members of the M5-RFP. At the same time, he called on the military to "create the security conditions for the holding of credible and peaceful elections, by involving political and social forces," while no new deadline has been set for a return to civilian power.

The junta has silenced the opposition through coercive measures, legal challenges, the dissolution of organizations, restrictions on press freedom, and the pressure of the dominant discourse on the need to unite around it in the face of a multitude of challenges.

Since 2012, Mali has been in the grip of a profound security crisis fueled in particular by violence from groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State organization, as well as by community-based criminal groups. This security crisis is compounded by a serious economic crisis.