By Rédaction Africanews with AFP
Could a prominent exiled imam be the one to unite the Malian population against the country’s authoritarian junta leaders?
Mahmoud Dicko, who inspired protests that preceded the fall of former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta in a 2020 coup, has been living in Algeria since 2023. An initial supporter of the junta, Dicko was quickly sidelined and became a nuisance for the military.
With his new movement, the Coalition of Forces for the Republic, Dicko is aiming to re-establish dialogue between various parties and overthrow the junta.
This religious leader and former head of the High Islamic Council of Mali now hopes to rally a population exhausted by over a decade of conflict.
In recent months, jihadists have waged a crippling fuel blockade and attacked industrial sites, suffocating Mali’s economy.
The Malian army and its Russian paramilitary allies are also regularly accused of atrocities against civilians, while failing to stem jihadist attacks.
“Dicko appears to be one of the last cards to play,” a junta opponent in Bamako who has joined the movement told AFP on condition of anonymity**. “The current situation cannot continue,”** the person added.
Mahmoud Dicko’s conservative religious views raise questions about his ability to unite all Malians and his willingness to maintain a secular state.
In a country where opposition is quashed, some see the exiled imam as an alternative to the regime of General Assimi Goïta.
Although the imam was long expected to return to Mali, he has not done so. Rumours of his arrival in Bamako last February led the authorities to deploy a significant security presence in the capital.
Even his country of choice for exile — Algeria, a nation with which Mali has strained diplomatic relations — is a source of irritation for the junta.