Mali: Coup trial defendant says he obeyed transition leader

Following a particularly intense third day of proceedings, which featured the testimony of Colonel Kassoum Goïta, the Malian court heard on 16 July from Kalilou Doumbia, the former Secretary General of the Presidency under the first transitional government. According to RFI, Doumbia explained the circumstances of his arrest, while further defending himself and adding that he worried for his security and his family’s.

For context, Kalilou Doumbia had read the composition of a new government on the 24th of May 2021, announcing changes in the government, particularly the replacement of Sadio Camara and Modibo Koné, two colonels part of the military junta and close to current leader Assimi Goita. Following the proclamation led by the former transitional president Bah N’Daw, the military junta saw this action as a way of distancing the military from political power. Assimi Goita’s men orchestrated a second coup, approximately a year after the first, deposing the president and installing Goita as the new interim president. 

Kalilou Doumbia claimed that he only announced the new government as part of his role as Secretary General of the Presidency, on the orders of the former president. Bah N’Daw decided on this cabinet shuffle, making him only a messenger. Doumbia defended himself against any involvement in an attempted coup or conspiracy against the government. 

Like the other accused and their testimonies, Doumbia described being tortured in prison and mistreated during the last 5 years spent in jail. He further added that during a significant portion of his time in jail, he was not accused of conspiracy, but was repeatedly asked to get documents that were in a safe in the presidential palace of Koulouba, which he was the only person to know the password to. Eventually, the documents were retrieved. 

The colonel did not answer questions about the information contained in the documents, claiming he was worried for his safety and his family. 

The prosecutor has suspended the trial until the 20th of July to allow one missing witness to be auditioned, a military man named Soumaila Bagayoko, on whom the entire prosecution’s case rests, and who has been absent since the start of the trial.

The lawyers of the six accused have openly expressed their indignation at the auditioning of Bagayoko, on whom the trial relies. They had asked for the man to be auditioned a few times throughout the process with no success. According to the accused’s lawyers, Bagayoko’s position as the last speaker left him excessive time and preparation compared to the rest of the parties, while no other testimonies will be heard after. The lawyers have not been heard, similarly to their claims of violence and torture against the current power.

Mali’s current military junta has been accused by multiple international governments and NGO’s of war crimes and human rights violations against its population, journalists and activists. Heard a day earlier, Kassoum Goita accused the current military government of conspiracy and money laundering amongst other crimes. 

RFI, Maghrebi.org