Mali and Burkina Faso, both led by military regimes following putsches between 2020 and 2022, founded a confederation with Niger, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Issa Kaou N’Djim, a Malian political figure known for having supported Colonel Assimi Goïta before distancing himself, made comments on Sunday during a program on local television Joliba TV News tending to “to discredit our authorities, claiming without any proof that the affair of the umpteenth attempt to destabilize Burkina Faso is only a setup”according to the media regulatory authority of Burkina Faso. The latter requested the Malian High Authority of Communication (HAC) “to reserve any suite that it deems appropriate for the broadcast of this program”.
On Wednesday, Mr. N’Djim was arrested and is “currently in an investigation unit for a case concerning him”a judicial source told AFP. “Issa Kaou N’Djim was arrested this morning [mercredi] at 9:45 a.m. [locale et GMT] at his home in Bamako by plainclothes agents who said they needed him for a case. Kaou N’Djim followed them to respond”confirmed a member of his family.
Issa Kaou N’Djim was one of the vice-presidents of the National Transitional Council (CNT), the legislative body of the military in power in Mali, before speaking out in favor of a rapid end to the so-called period of transition intended to restore a regime led by civilians. In December 2021, he was sentenced to six months in prison for “damage to the state’s credit”after comments deemed subversive on social networks. He was dismissed from the CNT and repeatedly prevented from leaving the territory.
AFP
