Mali’s Supreme Court Orders Detention Of Former Prime Minister Choguel Maïga

Mali’s  Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the detention of former transitional government leader Choguel Maïga. The former prime minister is facing charges of “damage to public property, forgery, and use of forged documents”, linked to his management of state funds during his tenure from June 2021 to November 2024.

Maïga, who had been placed in police custody on August 12 at the National Economic and Financial Centre, appeared before judges alongside eight of his former close associates.

The proceedings stem from audits carried out in January, which reportedly flagged financial irregularities. While the allegations remain contested, the former premier now joins another head of government, Moussa Mara, who was arrested two weeks earlier, in detention.

According to his lawyer, Cheick Konaré, Maïga remains composed despite the gravity of the charges. “He believes that a politician should expect anything, including prison and death,” Konaré said in a social media post, adding that his client expressed relief that his former chief of staff, the 80-year-old Professor Issiaka Singaré, was prosecuted but spared pre-trial detention.

Since his dismissal last November, Maïga has openly criticised the transitional authorities led by Colonel Assimi Goïta, accusing them of “clan-like management” and of reneging on promises to restore civilian rule through elections initially slated for March 2024.

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