Former Mali PM Boubèye Maïga Dies in Detention

Mali’s former prime minister Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga, who has been on trial for corruption charges, has died aged 67.

Mr. Maïga died at a hospital in the capital, Bamako, on Monday, his family said.

His family had previously said that he was being detained in deplorable conditions. He was admitted to hospital in December.

His requests for medical evacuation had been refused by the military junta, the Associated Press reports.

In a statement, the government said he died after a “long illness” and offered its condolences to the family.

Mr. Maïga was arrested in August last year and detained over “allegations of corruption in the purchase of a presidential jet” during President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta’s administration.

The charges are from 2014 when he was minister of defence.

Mr. Maïga had also served as foreign minister under President Amadou Toumani Touré in 2011.

He resigned as prime minister in the aftermath of the outrage over the killing of 160 Fulani civilians in April 2019 in Ogossagou, Mopti region, by suspected Dogon hunters.

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq