President of Mali, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita resigned on Tuesday at midnight and dissolved parliament hours after mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint. A video which went viral shows the unfortunate incident, thus, plunging the country already facing an insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis.
Keita looking tired after troops seized him along with Prime Minister Boubou Cisse and other top officials resigned in a brief address broadcast on state television.
Keita, detained, spoke from a military base outside the capital of Bamako that he doesn’t want the bloodshed. He said, “Today, certain parts of the military have decided that intervention was necessary. Do I really have a choice? Because I do not wish blood to be shed.”
The development came hours after soldiers took up arms and staged a mutiny at a key base in Kati, a town close to Bamako.
The soldiers were expected to deliver a statement later, while countries in West Africa, along with former colonial power France, the European Union and the African Union, denounced the actions of the soldiers and warned against any unconstitutional change of power.
outspoken lawyer and Pan-Africanist, Prof. PLO Lumumba seized the opportunity to warn other African leaders holding on to power to watch out for similar fate meted out to Keita. He stated, “although the seizure of power by the Military is to be discouraged, African Presidents who cling to power to the detriment of the population must know that soldiers are also Citizens who will not be indifferent. Let KEITA’S fate be a warning to CONDE, BIYA, QATTARA and others.
Some Africans express disappointment in relation to the coup while others assert that the vent was needed to change the political and economic situation in Mali to a better one.
The events came amid a weeks-long political crisis that has seen opposition protesters taking to the streets to demand that Keita leave office, accusing him of allowing the country’s economy to collapse and mishandling a worsening security situation.
Mali’s years-long conflict, in which ideologically-motivated armed groups have stoked ethnic tensions while jockeying for power, has spilled into the neighbouring countries of Niger and Burkina Faso, destabilising the wider Sahel region and creating a massive humanitarian crisis.
Earlier on Tuesday, opposition protesters gathered at a square in Bamako in a show of support for the soldiers, while foreign embassies advised their citizens to stay indoors.
The soldiers behind the coup – calling themselves the National Committee for the Salvation of the People – appeared on state television in military fatigues, pledging to stabilise the country.
“We are not holding on to power but we are holding on to the stability of the country,” said Ismail Wague, Mali Air Force’s deputy chief of staff.
“With you, standing as one, we can restore this country to its former greatness,” said Wague, announcing borders were closed and a curfew was going into effect from 9pm to 5am.
“This will allow us to organise within an agreed reasonable timeframe, general elections to equip Mali with strong institutions, which are able to better manage our everyday lives and restore confidence between the government and the governed.”
Follow Us
