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MALI

MALI – Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, a man with controversial methods

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Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta died on Sunday 16 January 2022 at his home in Bamako at the age of 76. Ze Africanews immerses you in the career of the statesman, from his beginnings in politics until his accession to the seat of president of Mali between 2013 and 2020 and the putsch that overthrew him.  

Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, often known as IBK, was part of the left and had a rather singular career under the presidency of Alpha Oumar Konaré, first president (1992-2002) of the democratic era of Mali. He was Prime Minister from 1994 to 2000.

He was an unfortunate candidate in the 2002 presidential election, but he continued to seek Malians’ support until he was elected head of state in 2013. In September 2018, he was again taken to the head of the country for a second term in a country still plagued by jihadist attacks. The Constitutional Court proclaimed him on 20 August 2018 winner of the presidential election with 67.16% of the vote in the second round on 12 August, for 32.84% to former Finance Minister Soumaïla Cissé. However, 

IBK was then confronted with jihadist violence since the north of the country had fallen in March-April 2012 under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda. It took the intervention of French troops in January 2013 through Operation Serval which allowed to kill or drive away a good part of the jihadists. 

IBK was overthrown on 18 August 2020 by a putsch led by Colonel Assimi Goïta after several months of protests against corruption and the impotence of the state in the face of insecurity. I do not want any blood to be shed for my continued business,” IBK said, admitting his forced resignation. 

The international community as well as ECOWAS condemned the coup d’état perpetrated against the president who, according to them, was democratically elected. 

With deteriorating health, the Malian Plique man, a victim of a stroke, was evacuated to the Arab Emirates on 1 September 2018. It was agreed (…) to allow the medical evacuation of Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta for humanitarian reasons for a maximum duration of one month”, reads the statement of the National Committee of Public Safety (CNSP), created by the military in power.

He finally died after a transient ischemic stroke, a short-lived type of stroke that can lead to a heart attack.

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MALI

MALI – The Malian transitional government dissolves all political parties

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Assimi Goïta Président intérim

Mali is turning a decisive page in its political life. By a presidential decree, adopted by the extraordinary Council of Ministers on 13 May 2025, the authorities of the military transition have officially dissolved all political parties and organizations of a political nature in the country. This is unprecedented in the country. In addition to generating a wave of national and international outrage, this decree marks the end of multi-party democracy.
A dissolution with the taste of “reform”
The announcement was made on the ORTM channel by Mamani Nassiré, Minister delegate to the Prime Minister responsible for political reforms. According to him, this decision is part of a broad process of “re-founding” political life. The government says it wants to “clean up” the partisan landscape by reducing the number of political parties now estimated at nearly 300. The government wants to set up and review their funding, which amounts to 0.25% of annual tax revenues. No political party can now organize meetings or carry out activities, under penalty of sanctions. On the other hand, elected representatives and officials belonging to political parties can continue their missions, on the sole condition that they no longer claim to be members of their party.

A repressed measure
For several weeks, many political parties, including the “Yelema” party, had denounced this project. Its president, Youssouf Diawara, said: “Political parties are not the problem in Mali. The emergency is insecurity, high cost of living, health and education”. Indeed, the political parties that oppose this decree see it as a violation of the Constitution and a setback for democracy. A citizen protest movement had emerged in early May. A demonstration, which gathered several hundred people on May 3, 2025 in Bamako, was quickly dispersed by the security forces. During this demonstration, several opposition and civil society figures were arrested and some people are reported missing.

Sanctioned media
In the past four years, Mali has seen two military coups. On 18 August 2020, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta and his Prime Minister Boubou Cissé were removed from power before being arrested. Nine months later, the transitional president Bah N’Daw and his prime minister Moctar Ouane are deposed on May 24, 2021. In ten years, Mali has experienced three coups with the military takeover in 2012, and the fifth in the history of Mali after the coups d’état of 1991 and 1968. The Malian authorities have increased restrictions on both foreign and domestic media. They accuse them of partiality in the treatment of information concerning the situation of the country and disinformation. At the national level, in December 2024, the Djoliba TV News report was withdrawn. The High Authority for Communication (HAC) of Mali. The channel TV5 Monde has been suspended again “until further notice” on 13 May 2025. She is accused of “lack of impartiality” in her coverage of opposition protest movements on May 3, 2025 in her report for the 20:30 newspaper. It had already been suspended for three months in 2024.

Suspension of political parties: After Burkina Faso and Niger, it is the turn of Mali
The repeal of the charter of political parties that set their legal and financial frameworks, leaves an institutional vacuum according to its refractory. Political parties no longer exist legally. Only civil society still exists. But it remains closely monitored by the state. With this new decision taken by the transitional government, Mali joins its ESA neighbours. Before him, Burkina Faso suspended political party activities since September 2022. In Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani ordered the dissolution of parties on 26 March 2025 following controversial national assizes.

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MALI

MALI – Nigerian military leader’s first visit abroad to Bamako

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The head of the military regime in Niger, General Abdourahamane Tiani, landed on Thursday, November 23, 2023 in Bamako and is to meet his counterpart at the head of the Malian junta for his first international visit since the coup in Niamey, found a AFP correspondent.

Mali and Burkina, led by soldiers who came to power in coups in 2020 and 2022, had quickly shown their solidarity with the generals of Niamey after taking power in late July.

Together, they created a “Alliance of Sahel States” (AES) which provides mutual assistance in the event of an attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the three States and strengthened economic ties.

United against international pressure for a return to democratic regimes, the two military regimes are also united against the jihadists whose attacks are ravaging their country.

General Tiani is to stay a few hours in Bamako and meet the head of the Malian junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, for a “friendship and work” visit, according to the Malian presidency.

The duration of the transition in Niger is not yet known, but General Tiani announced shortly after taking power that it would not exceed three years. In Mali, the presidential election scheduled for early 2024 has been postponed indefinitely.

A statement issued on Thursday morning indicates that Bamako will host from 23 November to 1 December two ministerial meetings “with a view to identifying prospects for the operationalization of the AES”, including the drafting of texts, the establishment of the bodies and the procedures for its operation.

The first will bring together the Ministers of Economy and Trade on 25 November for economic development issues. The foreign ministers of the three countries will meet on 30 November for political and diplomatic matters.

These meetings will precede a meeting of defence ministers at a later date.

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MALI

MALI – General El Hadj Ag Gamou appointed Governor of Kidal

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In Mali, General El Hadj Ag Gamou was appointed Wednesday, November 22, 2023 governor of the Kidal region. One week after the capture of the city, stronghold of the rebels of the CSP (Permanent Strategic Framework), by the Malian army and its proxies of Wagner, the appointment of this military leader Tuareg faithful to the Malian State reveals a strategy of the Malian transitional authorities.

General El Hadj Ag Gamou does not like to appear in public, but he is well known to all Malians, especially in the north. In 2012, while Tuareg army cadres deserted one by one to join the independence rebellion, the one who was still a colonel was the only one to remain faithful to Bamako.

Two years later, Gamou created the Tuareg Imghad and Allies Self-Defence Group (Gatia), a northern armed group, signatory to the future 2015 peace agreement, within the pro-State Malian Platform.

Distrust of the transitional authorities
Two years ago, in December 2021, the transitional Malian authorities disembark him from his post as inspector general of the armed forces. At the time, the CSP is not a rebellion, this coalition still brings together all the armed groups signatory to the peace agreement and the game of General Gamou within it is considered troubled by the leaders of the Transition. But mistrust does not last: today, Bamako is counting on him to bring the inhabitants of Kidal back into the fold of the State.

General Gamou is not from Kidal, but he knows the city and the region well, where he served for a long time. Above all, it is Imghad, a Tuareg fraction considered as «vassal» of that of the Ifoghas, who assumes the traditional leadership in Kidal and from which the main rebel leaders originate. «He is the one who will be able to gather», judges a Malian security source. «He will reassure the Tuaregs», says a close friend of General Gamou.

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