BAMAKO, Mali — Former Malian Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga was arrested on Tuesday, according to his legal team and judicial sources. The arrest comes just days after the military-led government launched a wave of detentions to crush an alleged plot within the army aimed at toppling the junta.
Maiga’s detention is reportedly linked to an investigation into alleged misappropriation of public funds, based on findings from a report by Mali’s auditor general, according to his lawyer Cheick Oumar Konare. Several of Maiga’s former political allies are also said to be in custody.
Maiga, who served as prime minister following Mali’s second military coup in 2021, was dismissed in November 2024 after he publicly criticized the junta’s failure to hand power back to civilians as promised by March 2024. His ousting was widely seen as a sign of the junta tightening its hold on power.
The former PM had previously led the Movement of June 5/Rally of Patriotic Forces (M5-RFP), a coalition that helped oust ex-president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in 2020. However, relations between the M5-RFP and the junta deteriorated over time.
In February, Maiga declared a complete “breakup” between his movement and the ruling military, accusing them of “arrests and extrajudicial detentions” targeting M5/RFP members.
Maiga was eventually replaced by General Abdoulaye Maiga, a close ally of junta leader Assimi Goita.
