The Court of Assizes of Bamako ordered, on Monday 15 March, the end without a verdict of the trial of the General at the head of the military junta that overthrew the power of Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT) in 2012.
Captain at the time of the events, the fall of the former head of state owes his salvation to the adoption in 2018 of a law of national understanding to “concretize the policy of restoration of peace and reconciliation.”
General Amadou Haya Sanogo and his co-defendants were prosecuted for the murder of 21 red berets. These soldiers, who remained loyal to ATT, had attempted a counter-coup on April 30, 2012. Arrested and taken to the garrison town of Kati (15 kilometres from Bamako), the red berets were finally executed between May 2 and 3.
For their part, the relatives of the victims concluded a compensation agreement with the government. In detail, the families of the soldiers will receive 15 million CFA francs, 20 million CFA francs for the corporals, 30 million CFA francs for the sergeants, 35 million CFA francs for the warrant officers and 40 million CFA francs for the lieutenants.
In addition, national funerals in memory of the victims, whose minor children are considered as “wards of the nation,” should be held. Finally, the Malian state has undertaken to allocate to each family a “F5 type” social housing.
The decision of the Assize Court of Bamako marks the end of the trial of General Sanogo, former president of the National Committee for the Recovery of Democracy and the Restoration of the Malian State (CNRDRE), which began in 2016 in Sikasso.
ID/lb/abj/APA