A former prime minister of Mali is jailed on corruption allegations
Choguel Maïga, 67, led the civilian wing of the country's military junta until his November 2024 dismissal days after he criticized it for postponing elections. He has continued to publicly criticize it.
His lawyer, Cheick Oumar Konaré, said the Supreme Court had notified the former prime minister of the charges filed against him by Mali's prosecutor general and ordered that he be placed in custody.
The charges follow a report by the West African nation's auditor general on the management of public funds while Maïga was prime minister. No trial date has been set.
Earlier this month, another former prime minister, Moussa Mara, was imprisoned after tweeting his support for jailed critics of the junta, which has ruled since coups in 2020 and the following year.
In June, Gen. Assimi Goita was granted an additional five years in power despite the junta's earlier promises of a return to civilian rule by March 2024. The junta dissolved political parties in May.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
11 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Can elected govt be at whims and fancies of Governor, asks CJI
The Supreme Court bench hearing the Presidential reference asked the government Wednesday whether an elected government can be placed at 'the whims and fancies of the Governor' by vesting him/her with the power to withhold a Bill forever. 'But then would we not be giving total powers to the Governor to sit in appeals?… The government elected by majority will be at the whims and fancies of the Governor,' Chief Justice of India B R Gavai asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who appeared for the Centre. The bench said that to interpret that the Bill 'dies' the first time the Governor withholds it 'would be counterproductive to the power of the Governor and counterproductive to the legislative process'. The five-judge Constitution bench is hearing President Droupadi Murmu's reference on timelines fixed by a two-judge bench for the President and Governors to act on Bills sent by state legislatures. Delving into the contours of the Governor's discretionary powers under Article 200 of the Constitution, Mehta told the bench: 'It is not an asylum for retired politicians but has its own sanctity which was debated in the Constituent Assembly.' He said the Governor, though unelected, represents the President and is not just a 'postman' to mechanically approve Bills. 'A person who is not directly elected is not a lesser person,' he said. Addressing the bench which included Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar, Mehta said the Governor has the option to grant assent to a Bill referred by the state legislature, withhold assent, refer it to the President in case of repugnancy with any Central law or return it to the state legislature for reconsideration. He said withholding is not a temporary act, and that 5-judge and 7-judge benches of the Supreme Court have interpreted it to mean that the Bill 'falls through'. Illustrating this, he said, 'Suppose a border state passes a Bill dealing with our external affairs, that we will permit a particular country's people to enter or not, then he cannot assent, he cannot refer it to President because it's not a repugnancy issue, and he cannot resend it to the House because if it is again passed, he cannot say no to it. So he will have to withhold.' He said the power 'has to be used rarely, sparingly, but that is the way the situation is'. The CJI then asked, 'If he doesn't exercise the option of resending the Bill for reconsideration, he can withhold it for time immemorial?' 'It dies,' Mehta said, reiterating that 'it (the power) is to be used rarely but power is conferred.' He said, 'The very language in which Article 200 is couched, it gives him options.' He said 'neither textually nor contextually, it is possible to conclude that the term withhold will have to be read as a temporary suspension of powers of granting assent till first proviso works out. There is no concept of temporary withholding of any Bill. If the framers of the Constitution wanted to link the term withhold in the main part of Article 200 to read only in the context of first proviso, two things would have been provided: (a) term withhold in the main part would have been qualified with the term subject to first proviso mentioned therein, (b) the first proviso would have mentioned that the Bill so withheld shall be reconsidered by the House, which is not there.' Justice Narasimha said the options must remain open-ended so that the political process has the chance to resolve the deadlock over a Bill. 'The way the political process occurs is not adjudicatory. Even assuming the Governor says I withhold, the political process can knock his doors and he can still open it and say, I will send it back to you, you consider and send it back. But to say… the first time he says, I withhold, the matter comes to an end… It can't be like that. It is counterproductive to the power of the Governor and counterproductive to the legislative process also. It has to be in a situation where it is open-ended,' he said. He was quick to add that the court understood that the Solicitor General was referring to Bills on subjects in the Union List. On the debate over the discretionary powers of the Governor, Justice Narasimha said, 'At that time we did not have impact assessment of a statute … Now, you see the amount of litigation it has thrown up by having provisions of this nature. Perhaps that could tell us whether the vision was right or not. Because the validity or correctness of a thought will come from its performance.' Mehta said he was 'not arguing that the Governor has unlimited discretion'. CJI Gavai said, 'We have some experience as to how some honourable Governors have exercised their discretion leading to so many litigations, but we are not going by that.' Mehta said, 'Indian democracy is a matured democracy. There may be aberrations on an individual level. But by and large, the democracy under this very Constitution has worked very effectively. And I personally experienced it during Covid times, how the Centre-state federal balance envisaged was on display. So it would be really hazardous to assess on the basis of some aberrations.'
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
State doubles down on 6-6-5 matrix for Scheduled Castes, plans panel to monitor reservation
Bengaluru: Barely 24 hours after a special cabinet meeting which decided on a 6-6-5 formula for internal reservation among Scheduled Castes, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the govt will set up a Permanent Scheduled Castes Commission to periodically study socio-economic mobility of communities and recommend changes in the quota structure. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Making a formal statement in the assembly Wednesday, Siddaramaiah clarified that the govt had not rejected the Justice HN Nagamohan Das Commission report as alleged by the opposition. "The govt is pleased to place before this House that the report of Justice Nagamohan Das has been accepted with modifications," Siddaramaiah said. "We believe that this decision will do justice to the decades-long struggle for internal reservation." He said the got will soon begin recruitment under the new matrix, with a one-time relaxation in age limit. He also said cases filed against activists who fought for internal reservation will be withdrawn and future revisions in quota distribution would be based on data from the upcoming national census. He said restructuring of the Commission's report was intended to ensure fairness. "These changes were made to ensure equality and fairness in access to education, employment and other opportunities for all 101 Scheduled Castes. In making this decision, the cabinet has adhered to the principles outlined in the Supreme Court judgment," he said. Detailing modifications, Siddaramaiah said: "Communities identified by the Commission as Left-Hand section will be provided 6% internal reservation; the Commission had grouped castes such as Paraya and Mogera (Right-Hand) with the Left-Hand section. The cabinet decided to retain these communities with the Right-Hand group, and therefore, 6% reservation will be given to the Right-Hand section." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice Nagamohan Das had suggested 4% reservation for touchable castes and 1% for 59 castes with a combined population of 5,22,099, categorised as sub-group A. Siddaramaiah said the cabinet had merged these two categories for administrative reasons and provide 5% reservation together. Siddaramaiah said the govt's move was consistent with constitutional provisions and referred to Supreme Court judgments to assert that the state govt has the authority to sub-classify SCs. While Congress hailed the decision as a milestone in social justice, opposition BJP said the framework was prepared by its govt earlier and Congress was only rehashing and presenting it again. With speaker UT Khader disallowing a debate, BJP members staged a walkout in protest. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar remarked: "We have resolved an issue that was pending for 25 years. The Scheduled Caste community is happy. I appeal to you (opposition) to be happy too." Khader said that while the opposition's demand for a debate was valid, the govt was also within its rights to refuse. He said the matter may be taken up on Friday if time permits.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
‘Blatant disregard': Hamas as Israel announces first steps of its Gaza takeover plan
As the Israeli military announced the first steps for its operation to take over Gaza on Wednesday, Hamas said that Israel's plan showed its "blatant disregard" for efforts of the mediators to broker a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The Israeli military said troops were already operating on the outskirts of Gaza City, adding that Hamas was now a "battered and bruised" guerrilla force.(Reuters) Israel said that it will call up 60,000 reservists ahead of the expanded military operation in Gaza City, a move which is part of the plan approved by defence minister Israel Katz. The takeover plan, which is likely to receive the army chief of staff's final approval in the coming days, also comprises the extended services of 20,000 additional reservists who are already on active duty, The Associated Press reported. Hamas condemned Israel's move and said in statement, Today's announcement by the terrorist occupation army of the start of an operation against Gaza City and its nearly one million residents and displaced persons... demonstrates... a blatant disregard for the efforts made by the mediators." Brigadier General Effie Defrin, Israel's military spokesperson, told reporters that the first steps for the takeover operation have begun. He said, "We have begun the preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City, and already now IDF forces are holding the outskirts of Gaza City." Earlier, a military official said that reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, leaving time for mediators to bridge the gaps between Hamas and Israel over the ceasefire terms. Following the Israeli troops' clash with Hamas fighters in Gaza on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that he sped up the timeline for taking control of Hamas strongholds in the City and defeating the Palestinian militant group. Defrin further said troops were already operating on the outskirts of Gaza City, adding that Hamas was now a "battered and bruised" guerrilla force. "We will deepen the attack on Hamas in Gaza City, a stronghold of governmental and military terror for the terrorist organisation," the army spokesman said. Hamas earlier took to Telegram and accused Netanyahu of disrupting the ceasefire deal for continuing a "brutal war against innocent civilians in Gaza City." "Netanyahu's disregard for the mediators' proposal ... proves that he is the real obstructionist of any agreement," it added. Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggered the conflict, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Meanwhile, according to Gaza health officials, more than 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's operations in Gaza since October 2023. Hamas accepts ceasefire proposal Hamas on Monday reportedly accepted a ceasefire proposal that would result in a 60-day pause. During this period, at least 10 living Israeli hostages will be released, along with a number of mortal remains. However, Israel is yet to officially respond to the deal. Mediators are expected to announce the formal agreement and set the date for the resumption of peace talks, AFP reported, citing Palestinian officials. Israel approves plan to cut West Bank into two Meanwhile, Israel on Wednesday gave final approval for a settlement project in the occupied West Bank that would effectively cut the territory in two, destroying the hopes for a future Palestinian state. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich cast the approval as a rebuke to countries, including France, Australia and Canada, announced their plans to recognise a Palestinian state. 'The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not with slogans but with actions,' he said on Wednesday. He added, 'Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.'
