After a week in custody, Mali’s former transitional Prime Minister, Choguel Kokalla Maïga, has been remanded in detention on charges of alleged embezzlement of public funds.
The Supreme Court’s investigating chamber issued the order on Tuesday following his detention at the National Economic and Financial Division in Bamako.
According to judicial authorities, relying on a report by the Office of the Auditor General (BVG), Maïga is facing charges of misappropriation of public property, including alleged forgery, use of forged documents and financial mismanagement. The inquiry covers his tenure at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Universal Access Fund Management Agency (AGEFAU) between 2020 and 2023, and the Malian Telecommunications and Postal Regulatory Authority (AMRTP).
The case file highlights what prosecutors consider serious financial irregularities, including unjustified spending amounting to several billion CFA francs: questionable loans, undocumented phone subscriptions, excessive mission expenses, non-transparent contract awards, and other management anomalies.
Maïga was first questioned on August 1, before being summoned again on August 12 and then held in custody until his appearance on August 19 before the investigating chamber, which confirmed his detention.
In a statement to APA, his lawyer, Cheick Oumar Konaré, said the former PM received the decision “with serenity,” adding that “a politician must be prepared for everything, including prison and death.” He nevertheless welcomed the fact that Maïga’s former chief of staff, Professor Issiaka Ahmadou Singaré, 80, indicted in the same case, was not placed in detention.
A leading figure of the June 5 Movement – Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP), Maïga was appointed transitional Prime Minister in 2021. He was dismissed in November 2024 after publicly criticising the military-led extension of the transition.
The investigating chamber is expected to continue examining the case, although no trial date has yet been set.
MD/ac/sf/lb/as/APA