Prime Minister Maiga had criticized the junta for indefinitely postponing the country’s return to civilian rule. The military has been in charge in Mali since 2020 following back-to-back coups.
The civilian prime minister of Mali and his government have been sacked by the country’s ruling junta, just days after expressing rare public criticism of the military regime.
At a rally on Saturday, Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maiga, 66, publicly warned of “serious challenges and the risk of going backwards” while the junta continues to postpone Mali’s transition back to civilian rule.
The junta, led by General Assimi Goita, took power in the West African country after back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021.
It had promised a return to civilian rule by March 2024 but elections have been postponed indefinitely, with General Goita continuing as interim president.
Maiga, a former minister and presidential candidate, was appointed prime minister after the second coup. He came to be seen as the civilian face of the junta’s strategic pivot away from former colonial power France and toward closer political and military ties with Russia.
But he began to distance himself from the junta in recent months, becoming more and more isolated and prompting months-long speculation that he could be dismissed.
“The duties of the prime minister and the members of the government are terminated,” read a decree issued by General Goita and read out on state broadcaster ORTM.
